Well, we may have to "agree to disagree" here. But....
Another way to put it is, per Kreuzotter: On a 5% grade, 200 watts, 20 pound bike, on the tops, your speed is 9.2 mph. With a 25 pound bike, it's 9.1 mph. On the flats, 18.8 vs 18.7.
Are the leaders and riders on your club rides so perfectly consistent and in control that they can hold their speed within a tolerance of 0.1mph? Or, do you typically go OTB because the leader boosts his/her speed by 0.1 mph? Are they making cruise control for bicycles now?
Besides, the idea behind a club ride is to "hang with the gang," not ride fast for 30 miles and outsprint/outride your opponents in the last 5 seconds (or earlier, if you've got the legs and/or guts). You may not even want to ride terribly close to LT, unless it's your "hard" day on your training schedule.
I.e. if you are so maxed out that you can't dig up another 1-2 watts to
keep up -- as opposed to a race, where the goal is to beat the other guys up the hill -- then it seems to me like you're on the wrong ride.
