Why such aggressive tires??
I'm and amateur road and MTB cycling enthusiast. I've been spectating the competitive bikepacking scene (indipac, inca divide, etc..) for a couple years and noticed pretty much everyone runs these road bikes but with very wide tires and knobbies on them. Literally looks like XC MTB style tires.
But it seems like most of the racing is done on either pavement, or on paved dirt roads that cars are still able to drive on. Nothing too gnarly at all. Wouldn't running such an aggressive setup for an endurance event would be a huge waste of energy?
Surely you could get away with some fast rolling 700c cyclocross style tires? Or dual purpose, traditional type touring tires with a little bit of tread?
Ive entertained racing at one of these events with my road bike (which does fine on basic dirt paths), just because I feel like I would have an advantage over everyone riding their DH MTB's (joking).
What gives?