Dear Thomas,
"YES", rotational wheel balance is extremely important. The majority of the bicycle world, including the reply you got from
http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/ who dismisses wheel balance as a non issue
are completely wrong and have no idea how lethal and dangerous wheels can be (especially carbon wheels), at high speeds.
The assumption that a slightly unbalanced wheel set, when some one gets on the bike their weight cancels any unbalance issues is completely wrong. As a matter of fact when two unbalanced wheels are sandwiched between the weight of the rider and the solid ground, it not only causes severe handling & rolling efficiency problems but creates a skyrocketing powder keg of danger between the rider's legs at high speeds.
I road raced motorcycles for many years before I became a professional Cat 1 bike racer, and always knew the value of wheel balance which is why I always balanced my bicycle race wheels. At the time in So Cal and Mexico I was the fastest descender and attribute most of my speed and safety to perfect wheel balance.
For decades I wondered what really happens to a set of unbalanced wheels at high speed, so I got a group of investors to put together a technical team from Washington State University and a NASA vibration expert using powerful vibration apps, accelerometers & high speed cameras to document and record unbalanced vs balanced wheels. What we found was not only astonishing but also very disturbing.
Most carbon wheels together with the tire are off balanced on the average of 7 ~ 20 grams! Think that a small plastic wheel reflector weighs about 17 grams, would you race or ride your fancy carbon wheels with a set of reflectors??? Guess what, that is exactly what you are doing every time you go riding your carbon wheels.
The difference between having a severely out of balance wheels or near perfect balanced wheels is Sheer Luck.
1. If your bike feels good and steady at high speed that means you are lucky that your wheels are fairly balanced.
2. If your bike begins to get nervous at high speed that means your wheels are slightly out of balance.
3. If your bike tends to go into a high speed wobble your wheels are seriously out of balance.
To avoid this by LUCK technical performance, just balance your wheels and you will automatically get optimum handling, rolling, safety performance. You bike at high speed will handle like its on rails.
So.... Think how bicycle technology evolves:
1. Carbon technology, critics said really? Steel is just fine, no one wants a plastic bike.
2. Aerodynamics, critics said, Oh please, there is no big advantage unless your body can be shaped like a wing, give it up.
3. Wheel Balance, critics said, What's the point the moment a rider gets on a bike it cancels any slight unbalance on the wheels.
The bottom line is this, the next generation of the modern race wheel will not be able to be created until a good wheel balance system is incorporated into the wheel and tire.
Check out dynamicspeedbalance.com and click on HOW DSB WORKS. I here we are the first in the world to conduct any type of scientific bicycle wheel balance testing.
Sincerely
Dan Sotelo
Dynamic Speed Balance