25mm tyres

The pushing/cutting analogy is misleading. The optimal tradeoff with 23mm tyres is simply between weight, rolling resistance, and aerodynamics, for typical racing use.

Too slow.
But this is what I was trying to say.

For the record I run 22mm rear 20mm front on my fixie skidder. Both tyres are coming to the end of their lives yet have only experianced one pu#ct¤re each.*

(*I neither commute or ride in Londons spikey London on this bike)