We’re happy to admit that two laps around a short, open road circuit on a dry and windy day does not offer the final word on the relative merits of carbon and aluminium wheels.

It would also be wrong to assume that the same observations could be made from a comparison of every carbon and every aluminium wheelset.

A very light aluminium clincher, like the Spada Stiletto, for example, might have narrowed the performance gap to the Aeolus 3 D3 on the circuit’s hilly section.

Equally, the Ksyrium Elite S might have triumphed in the stability stakes on the wind-whipped flat section if we had been riding the 90mm Aeolus 9 D3 and not the 35mm Aeolus 3 D3.

Our final observation concerns value, a relative quality that, like beauty, lies to a significant degree in the eye of the beholder. The only sound advice in these matters is to buy the best equipment you can afford.

If a £500 wheelset represents an upgrade on your current hoops, we’d heartily recommend the Ksyrium Elite S, a reasonably light, very reliable wheel that has done excellent service in our Kinesis Racelight TK3 ‘test rig’ for nearly a year.

Equally, if you can invest £2,000 in a wheelset without facing bankruptcy, and the Aeolus 3 D3 takes your fancy, you’re unlikely to be disappointed by the performance of your new purchase.

More expensive componentry tends to offer superior performance.

The consolation is the trickle down effect in cycling technology; not quite the torrent of ‘Moore’s Law’ and the development of computer processing power, but rapid enough to make this year’s bicycle a significantly more efficient and enjoyable machine even than that of five years ago.

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