Originally Posted by
Chris R.
I find it pretty funny that so many people think that it's always about training and the placebo affect...all the time.
The point is that even the most zealous marketing out there only claims a 10-20W advantage for high zoot wheels, and that's at 30+ mph. As CDR points out, that can buy you 20 ft in a sprint, but that's not the reason that someone at this guy's club ride suddenly starting being faster than him.
I race on two pairs of wheels and like CDR above, I can feel a difference in certain races.
No way that's placebo, right?
The ea90's are faster to spin up, which is good because it's a tight course with lots of surges and attacks.
Spin-up is completely bogus. Put your bike in a stand and give the crank a solid push with your hand. You can easily get the rear wheel up to 20+ mph (use a computer with a rear wheel sensor). That's how much energy it takes to spin up a wheel due to its inertia: the amount you can deliver in a quarter of a crank turn with one hand. That
might be measurable in very controlled conditions, but no way you're going to feel that difference on the bike.
Wheels makes a difference for sure. Should an out of shape recreational rider buy $3000 wheels to be faster? If they can afford it and they want to, sure, why not. Could they gain the same speed by training harder and putting on more miles? Yep.
P.S. why is UMD mentioned in every thread, all the time?
Yes, they can make a real difference, but not nearly to the extent that a lot people seem to think.