Originally Posted by
rumrunn6
a wider tire with a lower pressure will provide more flotation due to the fewer pounds per square inch contacting the surface. traction is a combination of things including tread, etc. all other things being equal increasing your contact patch will give you less traction, however all things are not always equal including turning and leaning, meanine a lower pressure tire with tread can provide better traction on wet slick surfaces than a narrow high pressure slick doing the same lean. especially over painted roadway markings ..
that may sound plausible, but in the real world, a 700 x 32 high pressure slick gives a bicyclist both greater traction and a larger traction patch than a 700 x 23 high pressure slick.
if any of you have ridden 700 x 23s in the rain you likely know the feeling of the rear tire washing out in the corners, an unsettling circumstance that can be hazardous to your health.
MY concern riding in the rain isn't the bike so much but the other road users that cannot see as well thru the stormy weather. Rain and fog on a december commute is an exercise in limited visibility.