Originally Posted by
ryan_rides
I'm fully committed to upgrading my components. New and better. Of course I want my bike to look good but that's just a bonus of upgrading. I care more about performance. I want to be able to maintain more high speed rather than have faster acceleration. Also I want to go to a higher cog and chain ring for a smoother drive train. Tires: I ride gatorskin hardshell and I don't want to change that. There's glass etc. everywhere you look down here. I also ride tire liners. Yes I know it's more rotational weight but I like not worrying about getting flats.
So, you have a clear ideas what you want to achieve.
As discussed above, there is an argument that it is smoother and causes less wear if you achieve essentially the same gear ratio using more teeth at each end. That needs to be offset against a very slight increase in weight (most chainrings are light alloy, most sprockets are steel, and your chain will be a couple of links longer and heavier) and, arguably, the tiniest possible increase in aerodynamic drag from the larger chainring! I suspect that the effect of more teeth on smoothness and reduced wear is only noticeable if there is a big difference in teeth, for example, hypothetically, going from 25/10 to 50/20. I don't know if anyone has accurate figures based on bike-specific experiments.
It is debatable how much difference you will notice in the smoothness and reduced wear. British Olympians famously go for the cumulative effect of marginal gains, often of less than 1%. For most of us, the best way to reduce weight is to eat fewer pies, and the best way to reduce drag is through the right fitting clothing and a good riding position. The choice of how much water to put in your water bottle may have more effect on performance than most of the components of your bike: a litre weighs a kilogram.
For all of us, cleaning and lubing the chain and checking the tyre pressures regularly will have more effect on efficiency than adding a couple of teeth to the chainring and a tooth the the sprocket. However, if you've got everything else optimised, and you have the money, the change of cogs can do no harm and may do some good.
In fast and steady riding on the flat, weight makes little difference. I remember a test many years ago in which a rider did the same 25 mile TT on the same bike, but the second time he had
lead strapped to the bike. Same rider, same bike, same course, but 3 Kg (? from memory) of extra weight. Over 25 miles, the times were almost identical. On this basis, the weight penalty of aero wheels would be more than made up for by the aero benefits if you were doing that type of riding.
However, as soon as you have a hill to take the weight up, or busy junctions to cope with, the equation changes and the lighter wheels are better.
Seeing as you're choosing your tyres very much for practical reasons, you're likely to take other practical matters into consideration. Will you need to carry the bike upstairs to your flat? What is the theft risk in your area? Will you be carrying a lock that weighs more than the wheels anyway? Which wheels will be most compatible with your preferred tyres? And so on.
I'm a big believer in only making expensive upgrades when you are absolutely sure that you know what you want for your own reasons. Other people may have different ideas, but no one can tell you that you are wrong for wanting something that you really want! Good luck with your choice.