Originally Posted by
aroundoz
I think you are absolutely correct. I don't know if 100g equates to 10 lbs but a heavier wheel is noticeable whether your bike is loaded or unloaded. If you can reduce wheel weight without compromising durability or piece of mind then you should do it. Just to emphasize the point, I recently purchased some marathon extremes which are 200 plus grams lighter than the XRs. What a difference. All things being equal on the bike, there is no way you couldn't this weight savings.
For what it's worth, I was told by velocity and rivbike not to use the snyergy's for loaded touring. I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on the dyad's. I toured on the aeroheats which are a 26's version of the dyad. They stayed true for a couple of years but the sidewalls wore down incredibly fast and I am fairly obsessive about keeping my pads and rims clean.
+1 for 719s.
In an unloaded bike you can perceive the difference in a second of acceleration but that's not the same thing as X calories to get up the hill at a steady pace at a much lower level of exertion over a 30minutes. Total effort over time is the issue and I'm pretty sure the effort to move 10lbs up a hill is more than the effort to spin 8 extra oz in the wheels.
In racing where a fraction of a second under anerobic efforts will result in a few feet distance it's worth it. I don't see it worth it when thirty pounds are sitting on a dished rear wheel and you can reduce the weight with the tire as you've mentioned. A light tire may get more flats, a light rim will bend.
The range of rim weights isn't that great. What I don't get is why a Synergy isn't recommended for loaded touring but a Dyad that weighs 19g LESS is. Kinda weird.