Originally Posted by elgalad

IMHO, unless you spend a lot of time doing soul-destroying hill-climbs, there are more important things to consider in a set of wheels than weight or spoke count. Aerodynamics is probably the biggest factor, as well as "flexiness" during sprint efforts. Things like hub smoothness and friction also add up to a big difference as well.

I ride on AC420's, which aren't particularly light (~1500 gms set), but have a decent aero profile (34 mm), bladed spokes, and hubs that are much smoother than my old wheels. They're also noticeably stiffer out of the saddle. I think these are the factors that add up to give a big benefit over less-aero, sloppy wheelsets.