I wonder if some of the influence is from the track world... they're almost exclusively riding tubulars in the 21-23mm range, on swept tracks, with no brakes, and there is a slight aero benefit to closing up that gap. With road bikes, short reach brakes are stiffer and lighter, so one can see builders questioning the need for extra clearance on a bike that may not see bigger tires or fenders.

Re pebbles, how about the "shotgun pebble" that zings out sideways, usually rear tire. I have heard them ping cars, guardrails, trucks, etc. So far nobody has stopped to try and kick my ass over it, but every time I hear the zing on commuting I think about large dump trucks and their "not responsible for road debris" disclaimer.

Hold it, anyone can buy and ride any bike they want, no problems there. I have a bike like that.

Now, I did win the Tour 27 times, but I'm older now........

I recognize the corn. Looks like Pioneer.

Tiny clearances only make sense in terms of incremental weight advantage, unless there might also be some possible aero consideration that is also needing to be exploited.
Shorter fork blades are lighter of course, but also feed smaller bending loads into the steerer and crown (if any). So a lighter and stiffer fork architechture is possible by having a shorter load path from the front axle up to the crown race.

Whether the possibility of a lighter bike is realized by using shorter fork blades and shrink-wrapped crown might also depend on just how the span between the crown race and the handlebars is bridged, where a likely longer headtube (and possibly longer seattube) might simply make the front end stiffer but not lighter.

buzz kill

Whaddaya smokin"?

Pasela TC's are the answer (Teflon Coated) the pebble woulda never stuck

the clearance was indeed crazy small! I stared at that thing and never saw daylight between the tire and caliper.

I don't recall if he was running tires bigger than 23mm... there is a trend of people using 25mm and bigger tires. The calipers were the standard Shimano reach (49mm?). Seems unlikely that even Felt would design a fork where a 23mm tire would fit that tight.

My shiny Hetchins has short reach Campy Record brakes and the pads are at the top of the slots, but it even has more clearance than this CF Felt bike.

I know that modern bikes are generally reliable, but is it a coincidence that the prior week saw another rider of a modern low-spoke-count wheel have a mechanical problem.. a spoke broke and we had to release the brake cable to let the wheel turn. As background info, this is a weekly ride that I lead, and my goal is to not leave a rider behind, vintage bike or modern. Another data point dates back many years, when a friend had the right hand BB cup back out on his very shiny steel Tommasini. We took turns towing him back to town. Another data point is from about 10 years ago on a club ride where my middle chainwheel folded. A friend towed me into town, where I borrowed a car's tire iron to pry the chainwheel so it would at least clear the chainstay (it was a steel bike, and a 110mm BCD 46T chainring)

Steve in Peoria

There is absolutely no downside to reaching down and wiping debris off of the tires. I've never pinched my fingers from doing it for decades.

If I manage to prevent one flat in 50 years riding... I'll be a happy camper. Unfortunately there is little actual data pro or con for the practice.

No need for the steel/rubber tire wipers on that bike.

Oh there's a downside. Back when fields of broken glass were common on the roads I frequented, I had an incident. I wiped my tires with my gloved hand as a precaution against flats, probably a 1/2 dozen times per ride. It became habit, front and rear tires. I did it so often I didn't even look at the tires, just kept my eyes ahead and on the road. Then one day it happened. While reaching down to wipe the front tire, my thumb hit the tire behind the fork crown and was dragged up and wedged between the tire and fork crown. Smoking burning skin! I braked with my free hand, but it took a few seconds to stop. A very painful ride home with an open oozing wound on my thumb. I dont have a thumb print on that thumb anymore!

^I thought you always wiped your tire in front of the fork crown.

Steve- where/when does this ride start and how long is it? I'd like to join if it's open. I'll help tow next time. My rigs typically don't break!

Yes. I wasn't looking. I reached down, palm sort of hit the side of fork crown and my thumb just got taken by the rotation of the tire. Ouch!

That tight clearance is so you can tell your folding clincher is going to blow off the rim, thumpthumpthump. Just enough time to hit the brakes. ,,,,BD

Dunlap grade school on Tuesdays, 5:30.
See the IVW web site... IVW Ride Schedule | Illinois Valley Wheelm'n
Average speed is around 18mph, which means we scoot along at over 20 some of the time.
Distance? Whatever the daylight permits! or 25 to 30 when the sun hangs around longer.