Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
If you subtract weight from the bike and attach that same amount of weight to the wheels, so the total bike weight is the same, the bike will not require more work to keep it going. Conservation of momentum.
OK, let's put this question slightly more simply: On my unloaded touring bike, I am 1/3 slower going up my local hill with my 55mm Rene Herse slick tires than I am with my 38mm Rene Herse slightly more supple tires. Everything else is identical. I am going far too slow for aerodynamics to be significant.
What is the reason?