>>1616041Tire choice and tire technology play a role. I was thinking about this exact same scenario, but I stuck with 700c x 32mm tires because there's simply a tremendous selection of tires and many incorporate the latest technology.
Continental Grand Prix 4 Season tires come in a maximum size of 32mm, and they're some of the best tires you can own. Very puncture resistant, roll great, good traction. Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires if there's a ton of broken glass and metal wire in the road. There's a thousand other options for less resilient but more supple tires. There's knobby cyclocross tires, there's combo dirt and pavement tires, there's everything. Often these tires have kevlar armor layers and all sorts of fun stuff.
The bigger the tire gets the more it's just going to be a basic old rubber tire, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I and a lot of other people have had great luck with GP 4 Season tires and it must be due to the kevlar/vectran armor.