Originally Posted by
Mr. Beanz
Me, it's all about durability. Plus I like the stiffness of the wheel. feels responsive IMO. With lighter wheels they flet flimsy and flexy. Mavic OP's and a few others just didn't feel stiff and responsive to me.
I use to think about lighter wheels for climbing, special events blah blah blah. But back in 02-05 I actually trained for rides and the wheels did not hold me back one bit. I did some good times on organized climbing rides. Like 10,000 ft in 7:10 ride time 7:40 total time.
During training rides, I tried lighter few spoke wheels and the difference was zilch on "timed" uphill Time trial training rides.
After that, I gave up the idea of "event day wheels".
Well I keep reading recommendations of getting wheels with 32 spokes. My Mavic Aksiums have 20 front and back and I started riding them at around 290lbs down to 240lbs where I am now. I've never had a single issue with them. I guess I wouldn't really know if a wheel felt "responsive" since these are the only wheels I've had other than the wheels on my previous CAAD, but those were crappy wheels for sure and I had lots of problems with them. I've done ok myself on some longer climbs. I don't necessarily feel like my wheels are preventing me from doing anything, just thought an upgrade might make the ride a little easier and/or more comfortable.