Originally Posted by divekrb
I was assuming the bike was the same...we were talking about wheels. The bike with the heavier wheels (and therefor a heavier bike), is going to require more energy to get it up the hill. You're also under a greater constant accelleration/decelleration when you are climbing, thanks to gravity working at your momentum.
Perhaps I misread you initial post since I thought I was talking about wheels too
Anyway, I agree, that a heavier bike/wheel combo will take more energy to get up a hill.
However, after having had my morning coffee, I am more certain than ever that neither the weight nor the distribution of weight in a wheel set (provided that the overall weight of the bike stays the same) will by itself affect the total energy expended by a rider (ie, an avg speed over a set distance). Wheel weight and wheel weight distribution will only affect the
rate of acceleration/decelleration--the work being preformed by the rider will stay the same.