Bicycle Tire Width And Rolling Resistance. The best road bike tires. Tubolito inner tube tests.
Rolling resistance 80 psi 5 5 bar. Tubeless vs latex vs butyl tubes. On a completely smooth surface the following applies.
Racers would go even narrower to 21mm with the general thought that the narrower the surface area the less rolling resistance.
42 5 kg 94 lbs rr 120 psi 8 3 bar rolling resistance at 100 psi 6 9 bars single tire speed. At the same pressure narrow and wide tires will have the same contact area. 1 internal friction and hysteresis within the tire s materials and 2 on rough roads small bumps lifting the bike and rider slightly on. For many years narrow 23mm tires have been the standard width for road bike tires.