Hi Tom,
Originally Posted by
noglider
Weight is the most important thing. A lighter bike will definitely be faster, and it could be more pleasant, because a light bike rewards you for increasing your effort. The way it responds to hard pedaling is less body-punishing than a heavy bike.
If somebody was not climbing hills (the OP is), then the weight of a bike is almost irrelevant, except to somebody who's racing. Once it's up to speed, there's very little difference between a light bike and a heavy bike.
If you are climbing hills, weight matters. But it's total weight (bike + rider + stuff) that matters. At my weight, a 10 lbs difference in bike weight is less than a 5% difference over all.
Lighter bikes often have better (lower friction) hubs/wheels and higher pressure tires (lower rolling resistance) and that can make a big difference, similar to what you describe above.
Cheers,
Charles