Originally Posted by
FrontRanger
I noticed that a lot of the tires mentioned in this thread are on the narrow side (relatively speaking). Do folks run them because of limited frame/fork clearance or because they just prefer that size (range)?
Clearance is definitely a significant part, especially since a lot of people's "gravel bikes" are just road bikes they've purposed for gravel.
Some sorts of equipment only exist out to certain sizes. For instance, if you want to run deep aero wheels, 30mm tires are about as wide as you can go; no rims currently exist that are aero when coupled to tires bigger than that.
There are some surfaces where narrow tires can offer better traction. For instance, on some kinds of mud, it's better to slice through the shallow soft slick layer than float on it.
And, plain old weight-weenieism.