Originally Posted by Bluman
I'm a total n00b to cycling... so I'll defer to what the knowledgeable people have to say. However, I'll pass along my personal experience. I've only been cycling since mid-March and am only at just shy of 1000 miles on my bike. I recently upgraded my Defy 2's wheels and tires. My main objective was just getting the PowerTap power meter but if you include that and the tires & tubes in the price of the wheel upgrade and you could say I spent 150% the cost of the bike on upgrading wheels and tires...... I wound up with a set of HED Belgiums with Conti 4000S IIs that weigh somewhere around half of what my Giant wheels and tires did and for ME I noticed ZERO difference in performance. Daily changes in wind, temperature, and conditioning make bigger impacts on my pace than my wheels and tires. The biggest advantage I got was a smoother and quieter ride. That hints at a performance gain but I didn't manage to measure any gain from telemetry.
Maybe since you've got some extra time & conditioning on me you'll notice a difference. I didn't.
So you noticed a smoother ride? Sounds like you noticed something.
It's doubtful any performance difference would be noticed on the road, but since you now have a power meter you can conduct some objective test involving a speedometer on a set of rollers thus eliminating wind, gradients, barometric pressure and other nonsense.
Chart what speed equates to what measure of power output and let us know. Don't have the patience? That's ok, it's already been done by other inquiring minds and such a chart looks something like this:
+/-5W is no big deal, my own output probably fluctuates within that margin on a day to day basis, but 10 or 20 watts is another story. That's 1 or 2 mph.
Supple tires inflated to the correct pressure should ideally roll faster, and beat you up less, than inadequately or over inflated less supple tires. Tire performance is always a trade-off, faster rolling/better gripping vs. longer lasting/less overall $$ spent.
If someone thinks some holy grail of performance can be found in a pair of tires they would be mistaken, however a rider who wants to maximize his potential "victory" factor considering all the hard work he or she has put in all winter, may choose to not cut corners when it comes to equipment choices. Beyond conditioning, a bike and rider that rolls fast is a combination of factors: quality tires inflated to the correct pressure, smooth bearings, a drive train that is properly adjusted and well lubricated, and a rider position that optimizes aerodynamics, comfort, and power output.
Like Phillipe Gilbert says... a good heart and lungs, it's maybe 50%, the rest is all the little things, 1% here, 1% there. I think it's a little more than 50% personally, but who am I to argue with Gilbert.
Btw, HED Belgiums... outstanding!
