Originally Posted by
Red Baron
Try a madone, I have seen it written that ~6lbs body is 1 lb on a bike. I believe it. Don't mean you have to. But thats why I don't ever use a Camelbak. And have planned water stops on a long ride.
Bottom line though, upgrading wheels to make up for frame weight increase doesn't make much sense. Just my 1PHP (1 philippine peso = $0.02 USD)
On the wheels- An upgrade on wheels is not only to a lighter wheel- It should also be to a better quality wheel. On the Giant OM wheels- I have a hill that I go down. It has a curve in the middle of it. On the OM wheels- I could feel the bike wanting to go to the outside of the curve from about 30mph.At 35Mph I was leaning more and Braking. Looked at the wheels and they were flexing sideways and I know the spokes were properly tensioned but that Deflexion of the wheel was noticable to my eye. Got a set af "Training wheels. Still 36 spokes-105 hubs and Mavic CXP33 rims AND hand built by an expert. First time down the hill and waiting for the wheels to flex. They didn't. Still cut the speed to less than 40 with the brakes and I was happy. Then on the Boreas and this has lighweight- fewer spoke Ultegras. It was not even caution to the wind- Just let the bike go- The curve was just a curve and the only time I got worried was when a Policecar pulled along side me and The passenger reminded me it was a 30mph limit.
Now on the lighter bike- It is a bit unfair as the Boreas is a different geometry but it is a 15lbs bike. That thing goes up hills and the only thing that is stopping me from Trying the Steeper hills is a lack of confidenece in my ability. I weigh the same- Same toolkit, pump and water bottle but On the 10%'s I am faster than on the Giant. In fact-Except top speed- which I do not concern myself with- The light bike is 2mph average faster. The hills take less time to get up(But are still hard) and I can go further because I am not putting as much effort into riding to get the same effect.
Now as to whether a rider needs to spend $200 on a set of wheels or a lot more on a lighter bike is up to the quality of the rider. For many- a standard wheelset or cheaper bike is completly adequate and no amount of "Upgrades" would improve that rider on a bike. It is only when you have spent the money that you find out that the Upgrade was worth it or a waste of money. Only thing is- I am glad that I was able to spend the money to get a significent improvement in my riding.