I feel like that is what the original poster is asking though, is if it would be foolish to get the wheels considering his weight.

In response to the OP, I am not sure your weight is all that relevant here in the decision. One thing to consider is the benefits of carbon wheels are greater at higher speed due to the aerodynamic factor. At higher speeds you will see greater benefits. If you average 15-18mph on your rides, you will see less benefit then if you average 20-25mph on your rides. You should still see some benefit in acceleration though.

I have met plenty of really fast cyclists that could stand to loose 20-30 lbs. I would not make that the reason not to buy the wheels.

I have to disagree.....

I had a very nice carbon bike with carbon wheels for 4 years. Last year i decided to buy a "stupid" expensive bike. My average speed increased 10% and total mileage increased 33%.

Everytime I ride it, it brings a smile to my face.

There's 'some tangible results.

Ok thank you, I am glad I was not the only one that thought the fool comment was rude...

I completely agree with your sentiment. Sometimes you buy nice things because you want them not because you need them. Most people would be way better off loosing 10-20lbs then buying a flat screen TV, but flat screen TV's still sell like hotcakes.

Uh, no.

I can pretty much guarantee that kind of rig would get you spit out the back of the kind of groups rides I like to do in fairly short order. It would take a Herculean effort to make it all the way through, anyway.

I am certain that is the case ... but so what? You would just go home early, or way more tired. My point is that unless you make your entire income cycling, cycling is a hobby. Getting dropped on a group ride is not life-threatening, so buying a lighter bike to keep up on a group ride is pure preference, not necessity.

And even the pro rider could get another job. :) Nobody Needs a lighter bike/groupset/wheelset/whatever. Nobody Needs a bicycle. It is a big bonus to have one, for some folks, though.

Anyway ... I had never looked at Campagnolo wheels before this thread. So for me that was an added bonus---I might foolishly buy a completely unnecessary set someday. Price/performance looks good.

Necessity...as defined by Capt. Caveman, here.

Dude, get a grip.

Mr. Chaadster, before we get into something regrettable and embarrassing ... the question was whether people who spend money on their bikes are fools. I am assuming you don't think you are foolish to have bought the bike and gear you own, right?

Then we are in agreement. Let's leave it there.

Being so poorly equipped for a group ride that being dropped is a certainty defeats the purpose of the group ride. So it would be foolish not to have the necessary bike for the job.

Wasn't the speed increase due mostly to the extra riding, which could have been done on the old bike (unless it was broken)?

There's always another group to ride with. :)

I'm looking at those Scirrocos on wiggle.com for $228 and I certainly can't see a reason not to buy them, but I don't know squadoosh about them. They look fantastic.

My point was, that a "more enjoyable" bike is ridden more.

Hey... whatever motivates you.

The most expensive bike is the one you don't ride.

So you would agree that expensive equipment is unnecessary to obtain all the tangible benefits of bike riding?

What are you're tangible results? if it's weight lost, you can do that buy eating less.

I have a 27# MTB with 38mm tires and a 14# road bike with 25mm tires. I can not ride as far or as fast on the same roads on the MTB as the road bike. I can not climb the same hills anywhere as fast.

It's not just the weight, the MTB is a brick going up hills.

Back the the OP....

I sure wouldn't. The joy of riding expensive equipment is one of the benefits of bike riding.

Come, come now. We're looking for easy fixes, not ones requiring sacrifice and discipline. Get a grip!

Sacrifice and discipline are not mutually exclusive of owning a nice carbon fiber wheel set. I am surprised you don't have a grip on that.

If both riders go the same distance, the slower rider receives proportionally greater time benefits than the faster rider.

Fwiw its a known fact that year over year, the typical beginner rider gains 15% in avg speed and generally rides 50% further as well. It is also well known that these figures are negatively impacted if the average rider purchases higher-end performance gear,as this leads to complacency and less self-reliance on one's own ability.

Anyway ... at least some folks remembered to give some advice to the OP ... :)

I haven't looked in a spell, but Campagnolo used to post no weight limits to their wheels, and would instead say something to the effect that riders over 190 lbs should inspect their wheels more often. A friend rode Zondas, Shamals, and one of the carbon Bora models without issue, and I would wager he was 230-240 lbs. I wouldn't consider Sciroccos to be that much different in durability to Zondas, and would always pick the Zondas.

And as a second point, I would pick Fulcrum racing 5 LG's over Scirrocos. Cheaper. Wider rim. Offset rear rim. Lighter.

Zipp 303 "Max recommended rider weight 250lbs"

'Facts'...

Zipp discontinued the Max line sometime ago.