I understand all of the Physics involved. The thing to keep in mind is that it is the total energy input into the system that has to be considered- the energy to accelerate the wheels, the bike, and the rider. The largest mass by far is the rider, then the bike, and then the wheels. Each differs from the other by about an order of magnitude. So the amount of energy I need to accelerate my wheels is way, way smaller than what I need to accelerate myself. My Industry 9 Al wheel SET is less than 100g different than an equivalent Enve carbon wheelset. It is a very marginal gain at best. Especially when you consider that the pair of MTB tires weighs significantly more than the wheels (something not true on the road). I have nothing against carbon wheels. I have them on my road bike. I believe the durability argument. I believe the aerodynamic argument for deeper wheels. I think they are cool. However, as an investment to go faster on a MTB I don’t think they make much difference unless you are within a fraction of a percent of winning already. Or, in a TR perspective, within a few watts of winning. I think you could take the extra $1000 to $1500 you’d invest in carbon wheels and have a bigger weight reduction in other ways.
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