But they were really testing 2.3, 2.45, and 2.65 inch tires!
My Bontrager team issue xr2 on 30mm rims measure 2.62, so this has me wondering if actual 2.8s or 3.0 are even faster? In other words, where is the cross over where bigger is too big?
Sometimes I ride my fatbike on the trails with 26x4.8 tires, and I’m amazed how “not slow” it is - it sure is slow on the pavement though with the appropriate trail pressure.