Originally Posted by Heathpack

I have heavy-ish aero wheels for TTing- front and rear 60 mm deep wheels and a rear disc. I'm all for buying free speed whenever possible. My fitter is a purist and does not like compromises.

Every now and then I try to get him to tell me to buy lighter wheels.

He tells me not to. Weight hardly matters as long as my wheels are not ridiculously heavy (which they're not).

However he does tell me he could get me into faster tires. (I resist, because I don't want tubes.)

The best way to test this stuff is going to be road aero testing. Which is coming, it will be the next thing in aero testing.

Of course I have wheels for climbing too. They are only lightish wheels because I prefer an alloy braking surface. No deep profile on my climbing wheels because I don't want to get hit by the crazy canyon crosswinds while on a high speed descent.

And of course if I was doing mass start races, I'd consider a set of wheels for that. Maybe full carbon but maybe not. There's an argument to be made for race wheels that aren't too expensive to replace, at least until you get to pretty advanced levels.

Hmm. Maybe the real answer is that there are pros and cons to different wheel types? And those pros and cons apply differently to each of us, based on whether we're riding recreationally vs racing, our weight, terrain, budget, and personal preferences? And that therefore it makes little difference to second guess or judge the other guys wheel choices? Cause maybe his decisions were made based on factors that are not immediately evident to you, looking at his situation from the outside?