Originally Posted by
BobbyG
A heavier tire may slow you down slightly, but as
davei1980 pointed out it may yield less rolling resistance. My experience is bigger tires at lower inflation feel slower due to more cushioning and dampened road "chatter". The speedometer/computer and gps have shown some of my bigger, cushier tires to be faster than the harder, skinnier tires they replaced. YMMV
You're correct in that they may not feel snappy because you don't feel every crackseal in the road, and the only thing you're giving up speed-wise is they don't spin up as quickly so they're not as good at sprinting, usually not a major concern for city riding