[Jasonator]

The stock Lariat 20’s come in at 44lbs. I have found some forged wheels that weigh in at 29 lbs

Using the same tires,what would you expect? Better range? Acceleration?

They are not very aero dynamic. Basic 5 star and 6 star pattern. They are on Custom offsets.VenomRex 601’s if you’re curious. (No affiliation)

 

[ChasingCoral]

May be a wash. Lighter will improve range but then you’ll lose it due to less aero.

 

[grumpy]

The loss in weight is a total of 60lbs, about 1/3 the weight of your passenger. I also think the aerodynamics of the wheel has the biggest effect. I have seen trucks with these wheel covers lately, they must help some:

 

[Kirk]

It’s probably more effective to leave the spouse at home. “Sorry honey, you’re killing my mileage!”

 

[Leaf-clarity]

Just look at time trial bikes, disc wheels. Aero wheels and frame make a huge impact on energy saved during flat stages. Weight really only comes to play while climbing. The 60 lbs save would have much less affect then aero wheels.

 

[RST]

Or you could just slow down 1 mph, then you'll be able to let the wife go with you.

 

[Ducman]

I’m no engineer… but lighter wheels make a huge difference on a motorcycle, even bigger on a bicycle. Something to do with rotational weight, and… physics. I’d guess that yes, it will give better range. But not a shattering difference.

Scott

 

[Steve Goodspeed]

I’m no engineer… but lighter wheels make a huge difference on a motorcycle, even bigger on a bicycle. Something to do with rotational weight, and… physics. I’d guess that yes, it will give better range. But not a shattering difference.

Scott

The difference occurs during change of speed, so under acceleration or deceleration. A lot of low speed stop and go city driving will see gains from the lighter wheels but highway range will suffer from the reduced aero.

 

[Leaf-clarity]

I’m no engineer… but lighter wheels make a huge difference on a motorcycle, even bigger on a bicycle. Something to do with rotational weight, and… physics. I’d guess that yes, it will give better range. But not a shattering difference.

Scott

Yes, more mass would require more force to start rotating wheels and have more rotational momentum. Ideally that increase in rotational momentum would be recaptured in the regen system.

 

[fhteagle]

It's not strictly mass, it's moment of rotational inertia of the rim+tire combo, that matters during speed change. Mass at the center hurts you less than mass at the rim. There is a correlation, but a poor correlation between total mass and rotational inertia. I wish rim makers would publish an inertia figure, but they don't.

At constant-ish highway speed, rim aerodynamics is a much bigger factor. The more closed the rims are, especially at the outer edge, the better. The edge is where the airspeed of the forward rotating part of the rim is 2x your ground speed, and could have 4x the drag of the rim passing through 3 and 9 o'clock positions...