Someone asked me about training with racing wheels so I thought I would post an opinion about that here.  Racing wheels are a great way to shave up to several minutes on the bike and depending on the distance, it can be quite a bit.  Most of you know racing wheels reduce aerodynamic drag and are often significantly lighter than a standard training wheel.  These are often coupled with lighter and less rolling resistent tires.  Because of this, it takes less watts (less work) under equal conditions to move the bike forward at the same velocity as well as to climb or accelerate due to reduced weight.  Simply said, you go faster with the same effort.  Therefore, it is my opinion that using race wheels to train with really minimize the benefits derived on race day from at least a mental  if not physical perspective.  Those of you who don't train with light aero wheels really understand the WOW factor you get on race day when you feel both the lightness race wheels provide and how much faster you go with less effort.   If you train with race wheels you lose that added mental edge you have on race day which can truly make a difference. 

So if you want to get that "Wow I feel fast" feeling on race day leave the race wheels at home when training.  And besides it is a little uncool.

Jim Lukanich