Deep section carbon wheels, are they worth it

Seems like its wheel season.

Aero wheels will make a notable difference.  Worth $800?  Harder to say.  There are less expensive options (as well as more expensive ones).  I'd suggest doing some more research on it and decide how much you're willing to spend (and if wheels are the right investment at all for you yet).  Some recent threads here and in the Gear section recently should give you some more ideas.

Well they certainly won't slow you down.  How much they'll help depends on how close you are to maxing out your current set-up.  But hey, if you can afford them without missing a rent payment then go for it.

In my case, my bike still has tons of untapped potential that I've not yet been able to extract from it.     

At the same time, I think bike stuff is cool.  I'd love to get a set of Zipp 404's even though they would put me dangerously close to the poser category...

Well, wondering what kind of bike you have, and what your typical average speed is.  There are three sort of "phases" or thresholds as it has been explained to me:

1.  When you first start out and are averaging say 10-13MPH, friction is your biggest enemy.

2.  From like 14-20MPH or so, weight and aerodynamic drag will most likely hold you back.  This is assuming of course that you have the strength to maintain such averages.  Usually best gains are a lighter bike and good aerodynamic position.  Another think that helps is reducing rolling resistance, usually attributed to the type/profile of tires and the air pressure they can safely withstand.

3.  Above 20MPH the gains are harder to come by, and this is where disc wheels and "cheating the wind" start to have the most benefit.  Even if you gain 1-2 MPH in average speed, it doesn't really come into play unless you are doing longer-distance tris.  I'd look hard at considering a bike upgrade before buying the disc wheels.

As for me, I was thinking about deep section carbon wheels, but I made up my mind that unless I start missing podium spots (which I definitely DO NOT have to worry about now) by fractions of a minute, AND my transitions are perfect, AND I'm training properly, I won't buy new wheels.  That said, I have a damn nice 2004 Trek Team Time Trial - a carbon fiber rocket ship that is light, gets me aero, and I can't complain a bit.