So if I’m understanding this thread, wheels with an aero advantage are more beneficial than simply lightweight wheels, even on climbs, except for when speeds drop below ~15kph?
So I’ve got a century fondo event coming up where there’s a long, steady climb of 3-6% at 15ish miles in length. There’s some expected cross and headwinds (7-9mph forecasted) and the road is completely exposed, no trees or buildings. I’ve got two wheel sets for my bike (Aethos): 32mm deep Hunt wheels that weight 1250g for the set or a set of 46mm deep Light Bicycle wheels that weigh 1575g. Would this mean the Light Bicycle wheels would be the optimal choice?
In theory the Light Bicycle wheels would be best (they aren’t exactly heavy IMO anyway). If you are a very light rider there slightly more emphasis on the weight but even then aero is probably still better.
I’d go with the deeper wheels, if there’s a 15 mile climb presumably there’s plenty of descending as well where the aero benefits will pay off. But there’s no real wrong answer and likely to be a fairly marginal difference either way (assuming similar tyres on both wheelsets). So might just come down to personal preference and how you’re going to ride it. E.g. if there are fast descents with gusting crosswinds and you’re not used to riding the deeper wheels in those conditions I’d go with the Hunts.
Avoiding to this analysis, as long as you will do the climb at 2.9 W/kg, you will be faster on a 5% or less climb with the aero wheels. If the grade is steeper than that or your power output is lower, then the lighter weight wheels are faster.
Every mile that you’re not climbing the aero wheels are faster.
So with the aero wheels on the climb you will be slightly faster. Even if you were slightly slower on the climb, since the climb is still a small portion of the ride, you will still be faster overall worth the aero wheels. On a road bike on level ground there’s zero benefit to lighter weight other than acceleration.