Originally Posted by karmat

Personally, "on the planet I live on" I find that on softer tires I actually ride faster over distance because I fatigue less. All that vibrating, jittering and slamming over bumps is not good for you, it's not good for your wheels, and it doesn't improve your time. Sure, on smooth roads in a short distance a thin rock hard tire will be faster. But you'll get tired faster and on long distances you'll blame your saddle for your sore rear. I like to push my bike hard, too, it's fun. But I can cover more ground faster on a soft tire than a hard one any day. I tire more slowly and I keep the pace up for longer.