"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - 40mm felt ttr3 wheelset opinions

so recently, i have been contemplating the move to powertap. in trying to decide which rim to use (for training and racing), i came across the felt ttr3 wheel which comes on felt b12's and s22's. they are only 24/20 spokes, but according to sd on slowtwitch, have survived a season of cyclocross. also according to sd, the wheels are really aero, scoring better at multiple yaw angles than "any spoked wheel from a certain french company." the problem - weight. i have heard these things weigh 1880g up to 2200g. worse case scenario, i scrap the rear hub, install a pt 2.4, and we are looking at a 2400ish wheelset! that's around 2 pounds if extra weight over my current ssc sl's.

okay, i am not that big of a weight weenie. i realize that aero trumps weight in most circumstances. i am not too concerned with rotational inertia (on analytic cycling, even if i exaggerate the numbers of moment of inertia and wheel weight, the difference between standard and test wheel on criterium corner is .02s). my big concern is that my strength is hilltop finishes, and an extra 1.5 to 2 lbs is pretty big. (and just to avoid it later, i am at race weight already, and will not be able to train the 1.5 pounds off of my body; 6'3, 147.)

so, thoughts? experiences?

6'3", 147lbs?

http://www.expat-at-large.com/pm/images/uploads/stickman.jpg

I'm 5'11", @ 147lbs I would look like the photo above.

so recently, i have been contemplating the move to powertap. in trying to decide which rim to use (for training and racing), i came across the felt ttr3 wheel which comes on felt b12's and s22's. they are only 24/20 spokes, but according to sd on slowtwitch, have survived a season of cyclocross. also according to sd, the wheels are really aero, scoring better at multiple yaw angles than "any spoked wheel from a certain french company." the problem - weight. i have heard these things weigh 1880g up to 2200g. worse case scenario, i scrap the rear hub, install a pt 2.4, and we are looking at a 2400ish wheelset! that's around 2 pounds if extra weight over my current ssc sl's.

okay, i am not that big of a weight weenie. i realize that aero trumps weight in most circumstances. i am not too concerned with rotational inertia (on analytic cycling, even if i exaggerate the numbers of moment of inertia and wheel weight, the difference between standard and test wheel on criterium corner is .02s). my big concern is that my strength is hilltop finishes, and an extra 1.5 to 2 lbs is pretty big. (and just to avoid it later, i am at race weight already, and will not be able to train the 1.5 pounds off of my body; 6'3, 147.)

so, thoughts? experiences?

Aero is still pretty big even on 5% grades... and the powertap delta, from a pretty good hub, is about 200 grams (little under a half-pound). So put it on different rims. Or don't.

don't worry pcad, i am actually gaining weight after being ill for a while. when i get sick, i shrink. up from 143ish a couple of months ago to 151 today. that is a big accomplishment for me. plus, i am feeling in shape.

as far as wheel goes, my latest thinking is to just go with the ttr3's since i can probably get a hold of them pretty easily. if the wheels do come in at 2200 +200 for pt, i can try to take some weight off of the bike at other places, and remember that last year at this time, i was riding a 23lb steel bike instead of my current 16lb steed.