Originally Posted by
fa63
I am sorry, but no modern wheel is going to give you 3-4 mph advantage over another, unless there was something mechanically wrong with your old wheels. In fact, the difference between a good aero rim and a box section rim is about 1/4 mph at speeds that most of us would ride at. For what it is worth, I have several wheel sets of various weight and depth (Easton Circuit, Campy Zonda, Ambrosio Nemesis / Dura Ace hubs, and Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL), they are all maintained well and I don't really notice any difference in speed between them.
Plus you shouldn't be riding with the C+ folks if you are maintaining 23mph solo
Well, you may be right... Please notice I wasn't making a strong statement, but just recounting my upgrade experience with all numeric data involved.
Other possible explanations for the difference: 1) Placebo effects may be involved as others mentioned (but as I ride the bike more I keep getting the same results, placebo effect's gotta wear out at some point, no?), 2) other components of the bike may be contributing much more to my performance than I'm giving them credit for (but the their most notable difference is weight as I mentioned), 3) the new bike's better fit might be another contributor
I should clarify: when I said "
... I maintain 23mph... " I meant for about a mile or so on an absolutely flat course, no headwinds. Then I need to go back to 20 for a while.
C+ = longer than 100 miles.
Who are the C+ folks you're referring to?
EDIT: Scratch that question. Thanks to the mighty internet I now know what a C+ pace is. Sorry for the confusing use of terminology.