There has been a fair amount of tire threads recently, and I myself have been looking at them as well. I see
tirerack has a nice article (I don't know how long its been up) on rolling resistance, and I particularly found this part interesting:
Quote:
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The tread area represents a new tire’s single largest and heaviest region and is the greatest contributor to tire rolling resistance. The tread and its underlying plies typically account for about 2/3 of a new tire’s rolling resistance, while the sidewall and bead area represent the remaining 1/3.
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So, by airing up our tires to max sidewall, we are helping reduce sidewall flexing. However, that only accounts for 1/3 of the rolling resistance of a tire. The tread makes up a much larger percentage of rolling resistance. This really reinforces the importance of buying LRR tires IMO.