Here's something else to chew on though: Many "race" wheels are not lighter than training wheels. For instance, Zipp 808 clinchers are 1921g, which is comparable to the weight of your typical wheelset that will roll a race bike out the door of any bike shop. Shimano WH-R500's are in the neighborhood of 1850g, and Mavic Aksiums are around 1870g if I recall correctly. The exact weight isn't that important, but the point is that there are tons of people racing 808 clinchers, 1080 clinchers (and similar models from other brands), off-brand (re-branded name brand wheels sold by the same asians) carbon ebay wheels, discs, clincher tri-spokes, etc, all of which are in the same ballpark as a "training" wheelset weight. My gut feeling is that certain race wheels' rotational moment of inertia is probably a little higher than a training wheel of (nearly) equivalent weight. Granted, the distribution of rim weight is such that a deeper rim could be approximated as being a line of distributed mass slightly closer to the rotational axis than with the training wheel, but the rim is also heavier, which may offset any advantages in reduced "effective diameter." I'd do the math now if someone gave me all the specifications, but I don't feel like tracking down that many numbers right now. Also, without knowing the exact mass distribution of the rim material it's a moot point. The MOI is going to be small enough that an educated guess really isn't really accurate enough here.
My take on race wheels is this: They don't help nearly as much as people think they do. If you're fast you will go fast regardless, but if you're consistently pushing upwards of 20mph avg then you could certainly make a case for needing to upgrade your wheels, as you're evidently already putting in work in training. When you do buy aero wheels, buy the most aero wheel you can (afford, control in moderate crosswind, race on however often you will be racing (i.e keep durability in mind). The preponderance of tri courses are "flat" in the sense that when you compare the pros and cons of weight and aerodynamics, aerodynamics wins out. 500 feet of climbing over an olympic tri course is probably enough to get a course classified as hilly, but not enough to justify using a lighter, less aero wheel. If you can afford to buy more than one set of wheels so that you can take advantage of any performance benefits that might be had by switching to a lighter climbing wheel when the course mathematically justifies it, then I sincerely congratulate you on your financial success. I hope to be able to do the same. That being said, MOP and BOP athletes getting spendy is great for the sport, and there's no harm in being a gear-head. I'm not opposed to people buying tech/speed, just opposed to the BS justification used to do so. The other day I heard a lady talk about upgrading her stock wheels (22-24mm rim depth) to some slightly lighter 30mm deep rims so she could "train faster." I call shenanigans. Train harder/heavier, race lighter/faster/easier. UGHH. This is turning into a rant, so I'm going to go ahead and complete it: Swimmers--don't practice in any type of racing suit. Roadies/triathletes: Don't train in your race suit. Don't train on your race wheels (unless you race on "training wheels"). Aero helmets in training are also a no-no. Runners-- Tech doping isn't turning your sport into a caricature of itself, and that is good. In the words of Ernie Anastos, "keep on f*ckin' that chicken."
Rant over. Soap box relinquished. Peace out.
__________________________
I tweet!
My take on race wheels is this: They don't help nearly as much as people think they do. If you're fast you will go fast regardless, but if you're consistently pushing upwards of 20mph avg then you could certainly make a case for needing to upgrade your wheels, as you're evidently already putting in work in training. When you do buy aero wheels, buy the most aero wheel you can (afford, control in moderate crosswind, race on however often you will be racing (i.e keep durability in mind). The preponderance of tri courses are "flat" in the sense that when you compare the pros and cons of weight and aerodynamics, aerodynamics wins out. 500 feet of climbing over an olympic tri course is probably enough to get a course classified as hilly, but not enough to justify using a lighter, less aero wheel. If you can afford to buy more than one set of wheels so that you can take advantage of any performance benefits that might be had by switching to a lighter climbing wheel when the course mathematically justifies it, then I sincerely congratulate you on your financial success. I hope to be able to do the same. That being said, MOP and BOP athletes getting spendy is great for the sport, and there's no harm in being a gear-head. I'm not opposed to people buying tech/speed, just opposed to the BS justification used to do so. The other day I heard a lady talk about upgrading her stock wheels (22-24mm rim depth) to some slightly lighter 30mm deep rims so she could "train faster." I call shenanigans. Train harder/heavier, race lighter/faster/easier. UGHH. This is turning into a rant, so I'm going to go ahead and complete it: Swimmers--don't practice in any type of racing suit. Roadies/triathletes: Don't train in your race suit. Don't train on your race wheels (unless you race on "training wheels"). Aero helmets in training are also a no-no. Runners-- Tech doping isn't turning your sport into a caricature of itself, and that is good. In the words of Ernie Anastos, "keep on f*ckin' that chicken."
Rant over. Soap box relinquished. Peace out.
__________________________
I tweet!