I think there is such a hard delineation between those who think it has negligible effect and those who think it has a noticeable effect it's making it difficult to actually make any leeway in terms of conversational progress. Add to that a bitter history of the two camps and you have little middle ground. It probably doesn't help that there is little definitive evidence to support either side.

It's not really a question if variables such as hub friction and wheel set weight affect spin up speed, acceleration, and velocity. Physics 101 teaches that. It's just a matter of how much of an effect these factors have on a ride.