Originally Posted by
Abe_Froman
That sounds odd. I would think they would hurt you more on the flat, fast bits, than on a climb where they really shouldnt be a detriment at all.
If you've ridden a 1,300 gram (or less) wheelset, you'll understand the huge effect of rotating mass on climbing and accelerating.
Anyway, I've been riding long distances on gravel lately, and decided to convert a bike with race wheels to something more robust; I swapped out 22mm for 25mm. The new wheels are mid-level Campagnolo clinchers. The previous wheels were irresponsibility light tubulars.
The bike now rides like a farm tractor relative to previous. The bike now tops 20 pounds, with all of the extra mass on the wheels. Hard to believe the transformation, from responsive to sluggish.