"widest possible tires" from the article sounds wrong, not because of width but because wider tires are typically knobby type (don't know if that's the right word?). Tires for mountain bike use are far from optimal for city/pavement usage - they're noisier, can produce micro vibrations, and often feel much worse when cornering. Semi slick tires with some water channels are better in almost all cases, except on very soft surfaces. You don't have to put super narrow tires, but some medium width semi slick tires greatly improve pavement ride compared to m/b tires.