Originally Posted by
TejanoTrackie
You are missing the forest for the trees. Inertia is inertia, whether it is linear or rotational. It takes a force to accelerate any mass and it does NOT take a force to maintain a given speed, because the acceleration is zero. If a lighter wheel seems easier to keep rolling at a given speed, it is because the tire has less rolling resistance or because the wheel/tire combination is more aerodynamic. It is NOT because the wheel/tire is lighter. Newton's Laws explain all of this, and are the basis for modern mechanics.
I am agreeing with you, I am saying "it seems easier"... at least my lighter wheel/tires setups have "seemed" easier and yes that could be that the lighter wheels I picked have less resistance compared to the heavier tires I replaced.
Long live Newton (even if he never even saw a Velocipede!)