Originally Posted by
SoSmellyAir
But even if the video is somehow representative of my fitness and my "go to" ride -- i.e., 28 miles; 1,100 ft. elevation gain; 15.5 mph average speed -- which usually takes just under 1 hour and 50 minutes, extrapolating the results from the video means that I finish 3 minutes faster. But I am not racing; I just want my new bike to be fun to ride, faster to accelerate (both from a stop and from cruising speed), and to handle well. Which type of wheels would you choose, and why?
Firstly, 215g of wheel mass is going to make no real world difference to your acceleration, whether you can feel it or not. It’s not actually hard to calculate and the results are very disappointing if you expect to make a gain. Basically it is a very good approximation to say that the gain in acceleration would be zero for that difference in wheel mass. Do you see any elite level crit racers and sprinters on Alpinist wheels?
The aero gains however are quite measurable and may or may not be useful to you. But they are there for the taking with no significant penalty on the ride you mention above.
So I would definitely take the aero wheels and their measurable real world speed gains, which are relatively lightweight and therefore fun anyway.