Lighter wheels, worth it?
step83
Posts: 4,170
Debating some new wheels on my Eastway, stock ones come in a shade over 1.9Kg been eyeing up a set on offer which come in at about 1.5Kg. Question is is it going to be worth doing? I know we like light road bikes but will the weight saved be notice able and will it make any real difference? Or is it just weight saving for the sake of it?
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Posts
- @ddraver
Right - so how will that difference actually manifest itself?
This is where im thinking, I know rotational mass will come down like a lighter flywheel so it'll spin up quicker. but so would me hurrying the bike a bit more.
Easty commuter
Tripster AT
I'm not going to entertain you, I've been around on this forum too long :roll:
Instead I'll turn it back to you so you can explain why it won't make a difference, and in the meantime those of us who have gone from heavyish wheels to lightish wheels and felt the difference can be all like :roll: :roll: at your efforts to dismiss us
Is that a pompous way of saying you can't answer the question? I thought it was simple enough...
Besides, you said "You won't notice it much - if at all - out on the road.". You are wrong.
- @ddraver
I'm simply asking those who claim there is a difference, to articulate how this difference manifests itself. It can't be that difficult. All I've had so far is derision in response to what should be a fairly simple question - especially for someone who has been on the forum for so long and is presumably an experienced cyclist.
Easty commuter
Tripster AT
So by all means buy them. A spare pair of wheels is always useful. Just don't expect a weight saving of less than a full 500ml bottle to transport you to 'cycling nirvana'...
I wouldn't get too distracted with the rotational mass argument. We have had threads going to over 50 pages and still no one could convince everyone either way whether 100g of weight at the rims was better or worse when compared to 100g of weight at the hub. My view (and a lot of this comes down to subjectivity) is that shaving 400g off a wheelset will make climbing feel a lot nicer (the wheels just seem to rotate better). However, even when riding a sluggish wheelset I have set some of my best Strava times. That's the thing with Strava, it doesn't really care about how nice the climb felt, it just measures time taken. In fact, it also ignores a load of other important factors like combined weight of the rider/bike on the day, wind strength and direction, etc., etc.
In other words, we could argue the science all day but most of us would still say 1900g for a wheelset is a little on the heavy side for a hilly/rolling route...although if the bike weighs 12kg and the rider weighs 95kg then we are really arguing over very small differences. Buy the wheels, give it a month for the weather to improve and the salt to clear from the roads and then give it a go. Let us know how you got on and your POV and we can add it into the mix
I got the last set of those wheels with Pave Rims. My only concern is that the DTSwiss Laser spokes are a bit fragile and may flex a bit but for 100 Squids, sod it. A set of Kysyrium Elite or Fulrum Racing 3s (which will be 3 times the price) will be sturdier though
@Imposter - last word
- @ddraver
Everyone said I would notice a huge difference. When picking the bike up yes there was, but when riding on the flat it was barely noticeable.
However, what was noticeable was when you put them under pressure. Climbing or sprinting the difference was incredible. The Ksyriums were just so much stiffer.
OP don't forget its not all about weight.
A lot of aero wheels will actually be heavier than the 1500g.
If you enjoy time trials then perhaps more aero is the way to go. If you enjoy climbing then maybe something like the Mavic Ksyrium Elite or Fulcrum 3s.
Ill get them ordered, choice of 24 or 30mm sections my currents are 28's so 30's will see me fine. I know what you mean on the lasers being fragile though. Worst case I can pick up a couple of packs of CX rays or the like and relace them even doing that these work out cheaper than Kysyrium's or Fulcrum's, OK I think the CX are a little heavier but still lighter than the current ones.
Easty commuter
Tripster AT
- @ddraver
Easty commuter
Tripster AT
I'm particularly interested in how the wheels themselves 'give a better ride'...
Using lighter spokes (butted of some sort) as opposed to plain gauge or large bladed ones results in a wheel which is less harsh on the road. Cruacially butted spokes also weigh less than their fatter counterparts.
Then again, you can have light wheels with fat spokes which are harsher than heavier wheels built with (more of) thin spokes
How? You mean the spokes act as leaf springs??
Take from that what you will but I don't regret buying them
The spoked wheel is kept together by tension: Basically as the wheel turn spokes will be under load or not, those which experience a temporary loss in tension are allowed to flex to a degree. A plain gauge spoke will not flex as much as a thin section spoke. It is a clever design that combines light weight with a certain degree of shock absorption. I am not in a position to quantify, but I think the effect is comparable to a significant change in tyre pressure and doesn't have the same drawbacks.
I am confident I can discriminate between butted and plain gauge spokes just by riding a front wheel blindfolded, if any other variable is kept constant... the rear makes less difference, certainly not one I can notice
Bianchi Oltre XR Sram Red E-tap, Fulcrum racing speed xlr
De Rosa SK pininfarina disc
S Works Tarmac e-tap 2017
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