Originally Posted by
palesaint
I skimmed this thread and didn't notice: Did anyone talk about wheelsets purely for climbing?
I'm sure there is quite a difference between climbing 10,000 feet in a day on 2000 gram wheelset versus a sub-1000 Zipp101 wheelset. I'm just not sure how much of a difference - how much more energy it would take to haul the heavier wheelset up all that elevation.
It wouldn't be much different than climbing with the Zipp set and carrying a 1000 gram weight. The extra energy you put into heavier wheels to get them moving is still in the the wheels when you stop pedaling and they will coast that much longer unless you apply the brakes but on a continuous climb that shouldn't be an issue. The effect is just more noticeable when you are accelerating.
Take a look at this:
http://www.training4cyclists.com/how...on-alpe-dhuez/ It didn't change much moving the weight from the wheels to the bike. He was 30 seconds faster, but he also put in slightly more power.