rruff wrote:
I'd just modify that to be smaller irregularities, not necessarily sharp ones. Small as in all the ones we care about; chipseal and pavement cracks for instance. If you hit a big pothole the smaller tire will have more cushion... until you bottom out and blow your tire and rim. For comfort, tire pressure needs to be normalized, not casing tension or drop.
I used the word "sharp" because, even for the smallest irregularity category, Silca's test was trying to simulate things like pavement lips. The edge of a "big pothole" is actually a pretty small pointy thing at the tire contact.
"Small" is probably more accurate, though.