Im looking at upgrading the stock wheels on my Checkpoint. I’m going to get some Thundero’s but I’m having hard time deciding between the 44 and 48s. I mainly ride fairly smooth rail trail with some mixed in single track. There are times too where I’ll ride road to some technical gravel. I’m running a 23mm ID rim. With all that said I was leaning towards the 48s for the comfort. Speed isn’t super important to me so if I’m only loosing a tiny bit of speed to jump to the 48s for comfort, that’d be ideal. I just don’t want the 48s to be too slow that they really drag me down on road sections.
Works on single track ( hard packed ) as well as gravel. I even did 65 miles on the road. While not as fast as my 28’s on my Tarmac on the road they worked great with higher air pressure than I would run in gravel.
I run the thundero 48s on my checkpoint, used them all last year. Very happy with them. I still run 1 in the back (2.1” on the front, which won’t fit in the back).
Supposed to be fast, and it’s comfortable. Use it racing and on most of my training rides, including lots of pavement. I personally wouldn’t even consider the 44.
Not exactly what you asked, but relevant - I ran 40mm Hutchinson Caracal Race this weekend as BWR. They roll fast and smooth, handle great, but lack the tread to really grip on loose dirt when pushed. If you’re not looking to get wild (or are and are willing to trade a bit of grip for a lot of loose fun), I highly recommend them. A 45mm version will be out in June/July.
The data still shows that, even on smoother gravel, wider tires generally perform better. There are some new tires which are closing the gap (Hutchinson Caracal, as mentioned), but I would still defer to a wider tire.
The calculator works pretty well. It’s a good starting point.
I go by what works for me. I adjusted pressure many times over different rides. (Electric pump) .
Found what’s too high and what’s too low for a variety of surfaces. In central Texas it’s usually hard packed and if it does rain it drys up very fast. You get fine grinding paste and not much mud when it’s wet. Key is to get that nice cushy feel but not too soft as to wash out in turns. I run my back tire about 5psi more than the front.
Tire width at that scale is as much about tire pressure as it is about floating on softer surfaces. If you’re rail trail has pillowy (non-packed - like off-line on a dirt circle track) top layer, you might displace less of that top layer with the bigger tires and see a significant speed difference. The down side of the bigger tire might be getting tossed around more in gusty crosswinds, frame fitment, and road aero.
Having said that, the difference 44mm → 48mm is 3mm on BBR’s wheel. You’re not really going to notice the difference practically as you’re going to set them at nearly the same pressure in day to day use.