How does my weight affect....

willbevan

Hi guys,

Please excuse this might seem a stupid question..

Now i know lighter you are better for climbing as less weight to drag up...

But does weighting more have its advantages,

i.e. out ofthe saddle i presume you will generate more power up say short inclines

If there is any literature on this, or another thread, anyone please provide a link:)

Thanks

Will

meagain

I rather assume that "weight" in itself not much of a clue to physical ability at any sporting endeavour. Might be 15 st and fit - or 12 st and definitely not!

In theory extra weight should benefit down-hillers, but in practice they don't seem to be obese!

howiejmidlands

Trust me.

19 stone of "weight" on the pedals does not get one up the hill quicker. Dare i say, it takes half the time or more.

However, once at the top of said hill, you drop like the proverbial stone.
Now weight i think this is called mass.

Therefore lose weight, climb quicker and descend with the mob is my advice.

Here endeth the lesson of a 19 stone climber!!!! Not

Cajun

I seem to recall that 5# of body weight equals about 1# of bicycle weight....(or something like that...) and a good set of hubs & wheels makes a world of difference ... (IMHO) I have some nice wheel sets, and generally can coast down as fast, generally faster, than someone who is heavier and pedaling at 80 rpm....

http://www.triathletemag.com/Department ... l_Time.htm

http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm

Panter

Its just a matter of power to weight ratios.

Thsts why I struggle so much up hills :oops: but do quite well on the flat

I think the best way is to start off very heavy and build your leg muscles appropriately, and then lose the weight but keeping the muscle


cheers

Chris

Nuggs

meagain wrote:

In theory extra weight should benefit down-hillers, but in practice they don't seem to be obese!

Surely Newton would diagree with that?

phreak

Panter wrote:

Its just a matter of power to weight ratios.

Thsts why I struggle so much up hills :oops: but do quite well on the flat

I think the best way is to start off very heavy and build your leg muscles appropriately, and then lose the weight but keeping the muscle


cheers

Chris

That's how I believed it to be too. On the flat the main resistance is wind and weight doesn't really alter the profile of a rider much so those with more power (generally speaking, bigger people) are faster on the flat. On the hills however you're going slower so gravity is the main resistance, therefore meaning power/weight is the key.

ut_och_cykla

Not being overly skinny is probably an advantage in poor weather (very skinny mountain climbers tend to suffer in cold/ wet weather) adn on flat TT courses, providing you have a reasonable power output. Uphill (of any description ) is where weight works against you (with the help of gravity) . Big people get up hills too of cours - it tends to take them longer tho'!

oldwelshman

willbevan wrote:

Hi guys,

Please excuse this might seem a stupid question..

Now i know lighter you are better for climbing as less weight to drag up...

But does weighting more have its advantages,

i.e. out ofthe saddle i presume you will generate more power up say short inclines

No, if this was the case all the fat unfit riders would be best on steep hills!!

If you have more weight, the power required to get you up the hill increases, it is more to do with power to weight ratio, especially on longer climbs.

willbevan

hi guys,

thanks for all the answers, reason i asked is becuase ihave some of a running backgroud, where as far asi am aware, lighter just is better....(sorry very sweeping statement)

Unlike for example,riding onthe flat,itsnot the weight, but the aeroness of somone that determines there speed(as well as there power obviouly)

rdaviesb

For a dramatic demonstration as to how weight affects progress uphill...

....ride tandem with the wife.......

..but those downhils.... :twisted:

Bassjunkieuk

Also bear in mind that muscle tissue is denser then fat so it weighs more. Unfortunately this is one thing doctors usually don't take into account when checking peoples BMI as that's normally a simple weight v. height calculation rather then taking into account the % of body fat someone is carrying!

I guess the question then becomes how much "baggage" i.e fat your carrying! As muscle will add weight but also aid your power. Like willbevan I come from a running background (many moons ago, used to run for my local club in the 100 and 200m sprints!) so I have fairly strong legs and good upper body strength, the upper body strength isn't really that much help when on the road bike but the legs are good for sprinting and starting to get used to the demands of climbing hills! Having said all this I'm not carrying much weight myself (5'5" and around 65kg) so the only time I really notice a difference is when I have a rather heavy backpack on!