Tried a quick search- no luck: Does weight of wheels really make much of a difference?

Here a good analogy
Grab the kid’s bike and spin the wheel as fast as you can. Now stick your fingers in the spokes.

Now try the same thing with a mountain bike.

This is purely hypothetical, i dont really expect you to do it.
But rotating mass is relevant, the heavier it is it would be harder to accellerate and to stop.


Actually, rotational inertia is an exponential factor of the radius, so the change in diameter does far more than any change in mass.

A heavy wheel versus a light one of the same diameter is a better comparison.

If I remember correctly, anyway.