Originally Posted by
ilovecycling
They don't make YOU faster, but you'd be kidding yourself if you said a lightweight set of wheels didn't spin up to speed faster. Aero wheels are only beneficial if you are in top shape and can maintain 25mph-30mph for a good amount of time. However, it's impossible to ignore the relatively instantaneous acceleration you get with a 1300g wheelset over a 2000g wheelset, even if you aren't a pro. Like bianchi10 said, it's not just mass off your bike, it's rotational mass off your wheels. Big difference there. That being said, there's no need to spend $2,000 on a fancy set of carbon fiber wheels. You can spend $500-$800 and get something in the 1300-1500g weight range that is still going to be strong enough for a 200lb rider to ride every day.
In the end, it depends on what your idea of "THAT" big of a difference is. To me, the difference in acceleration between a 2000g and 1300g wheelset is huge. And it's not placebo effect.
I totally concur. I went through a similar upgrade recently - got a new bike with Ksyrium Equipe wheelsets, which I think are about 300-400g lighter than my previous set. Even though the new bike itself is at least 3 lbs lighter than the old one overall, I think I made up for that difference by loading it up with 2 huge bottles during a C+ ride I went on last weekend. With that I was still able to maintain 23mph on flats solo (about 3-4mph better than what I could do on the old bike). The acceleration of the new bike is incredible. I would also give credit to the nice frame and Ultegra components, but I think the biggest contribution came from the lighter wheels.
If you think about it, I'm now rotating 400 g less mass on that 311mm radius at >250 RPM in order to travel at 20mph (someone check the math)
All this being said, I believe this must be close to the sweet spot for me. Any more money I spend on wheels will probably have marginal returns for my needs (I'm not a racer - if you are one that's a different story).
Needless to say all the other comments (including yours) about improving improving your legs are very true. However given the same legs (say already improved as much as humanly possible) the quest for the right equipment that will improve your efficiency is a very valid one. The only counter argument could be that having really light wheels might spoil you and demotivate from more stringent training.