Tyre width is a hotly contested topic both on the road and trail, and the industry seems to be following the ‘wider is better’ mantra.
- Which is faster for racing XC: hardtail or full-suspension?
- Dropper post vs fixed post. Which is faster for XC racing?
- Are 27.5+ bikes faster than 29ers?
The conventional wisdom when it came to XC has been that narrower is better because the worst place for weight is on the outside of the rim, and wider tyres are slightly heavier than their narrow cousins — so in theory you should get better rolling resistance.
However, opinions seem to change as often as the tides and now we're beginning to see XC racers embrace the wider rubber hoping for better grip and lower rolling resistance.
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So to find out which is faster we sent our resident XC whippet Joe Norledge out to The Forest of Dean in the UK to find out whether skinny or fat is faster on a technical XC course.
The rubber
In an effort to eliminate as many variables as possible Joe used two sets of Maxxis Icons in 2.0in and 2.35in. These were mounted on identical 29in SRAM Roam 40 wheels and set up tubeless with the same amount of sealant in each tire. The weight difference between the 2.0 and 2.3in tyres is 598g and 764g respectively.
Methodology
Results
Roll down test
Climbing test
XC lap
Conclusion
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