Originally Posted by
seeker333
There is a widespread erroneous belief that 700c are faster - they are on racing bikes for racers, but for touring it makes no difference whatsoever. This is due to the fact that the poor aerodynamics of a loaded touring bike, combined with the rigors of having to cover >50 miles a day with a >25 lb load, force the bicyclist to lower their power output to a low level (~100 watts) to maintain progress day-after-day.
Yeah... no.
700c are faster and smoother off-road and on rough stuff, since the 'angle of attack' when hitting things is less. I've seen it when I went from 26er to 29er MTB, and I've seen it on my 700c tourer with fairly fat tires... washboard, big gravel, bumpy stuff, cobblestones, it all feels better and is easier to get around on. If anything, it helps MORE with weight on the bike since you don't have to exert those little 'spikes' of effort to haul over them as much.
On fairly smooth to glassy road? You're absolutely right then. But those are the exception rather than the rule at least in my touring.