Originally Posted by
AlanK
I won't pretend to understand all the physics and engineering complexities, but to me there seems to be a simple reason why 700c wheels would be faster than 26" wheels which doesn't seem to have been mentioned (or maybe it has and I just didn't understand):
All other things being equal (which I know is almost never the case, but for argument sake) the larger the diameter of a wheel the farther it will roll per revolution.
theyre not faster.
one gears the bike a little higher with smaller wheels to adjust for circumfrence.
go look at a 20" wheel folder. The guys riding those arent pushing 54 or 56 T chainrings because theyre olympians.... you make the gearing larger to accommodate the rev difference.
