Originally Posted by
Atlas Shrugged
People use the rotating mass argument as a justification tool when trying to explain why they are riding multiple thousand dollar wheel sets while they are 20 or 30 lbs overweight.
Or marketing encourages misconceptions that make ppl believe a 200g lighter wheelset is much faster than the stock wheels, even if it likely isn't.
The basic difference between added weight or added rolling and wind resistance is analogue to the difference between a capacitor and a resistor. The former (weight) stores energy, but releases it again, whereas the latter (rolling and wind resistance) convert energy into heat and looses it.