BTLOS 30mm wheels for pure climbing?

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by fogrider

I stand by my comments based on my own results, your results. Your results may vary! I'm sure some of it is because of 'new wheel' affect but a PR is a PR. to be honest, I doubted too, this was with tubulars when I first got sucked into lightweight wheels...

But are you consistently 2-3 mph faster on the new wheels? I'm not questioning your experience but it does conflict with years of data on weight vs speed.

Tim

[thwart]

Originally Posted by mcteague

But are you consistently 2-3 mph faster on the new wheels? I'm not questioning your experience but it does conflict with years of data on weight vs speed.

Tim

Yep, that’s the key word.

A PR is certainly nice but day in, day out performance over time tells the tale… factors out the psychological aspect.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by fogrider

Tex, I've been to Texas...it's mostly flat, you certainly don't need climbing wheels! But lightweight wheels do make a bike feel quick! A 1250 gram wheel compared to aluminum wheels might be like 2mph on a climb. So, if on Alum wheels, you might be climbing at 10 mph, but on carbon, with the same power, you might be doing 12 or 13 mph.

So, if 1250 gram wheels makes you 2 mph faster on a climb, will 950 gram wheels make you 4 mph faster? I've used 950 gram wheels (FSE 20mm deep carbon tubulars) at the Mt. Washington Hill climb race, and if I'd gone 4 mph faster, I would have broken the all time time record for that climb. Yet I only averaged less than 0.1 mph faster. Should I go back to wheel maker and ask for my money back?

[bigbill]

Unrelated to average speed or weight, but if I got another set of wheels from BTLOS, I won't go with glossy again. My bikes are rarely clean other than the drivetrain. The glossy finish shows everything. I'll do matte next time. Otherwise, the Bitex hubs spin smooth and allow for direct pull spokes. I'm not sure if I'm faster but once we relocate to central Wyoming in the spring, I can do comparisons between the two wheel sets I have for my Open Min.d., OG Boyd Altamont or the BTLOS. The bike has a powermeter crankset so I can ride the same loop and compare power versus speed.