Originally Posted by
meanwhile
Wrong. The amount of energy needed to spin your wheels is trivial.
Wrong. I noticed a
world of difference swapping tires on my bikes. In one case I went from 1.95" Crossroads to 2" Marathon Supremes,in another I went from 45mm Borough XC's to 42mm Contact Lites;both were much more pleasant to ride in stop-and-go traffic,and were easier to climb up steep hills with the much lighter tires.
Originally Posted by
meanwhile
Common sense can quickly prove this to you: hold the back wheel off the ground, spin it up to super speed, and then hit the brake - stopping will be instant.
Huh? First,you just proved yourself wrong. You actually had to put effort into spinning that wheel up,while hitting the brake required almost none. Second,what does this have to do with
riding the bike? In that example,there's only the momentum of the wheel spinning,when riding the bike you have the weight of the bike+rider,plus gravity if going down hill to deal with.