It isn’t always just about hauling the extra weight around, I get it. This underlines why shedding excess body mass (fat) is so effective at boosting performance — even if your aerobic fitness remains the same. Power-to-weight ratio matters because it’s a great predictor of performance. 15kg Load: 193.73 mins @ 30.97km/h +1 mins 30 secs (0.9% slower) Rider: 78kg – Bike: 15kg – Gear: 25kg After seeing the standard height-weight BMI info available I was really wondering how someone of my height (6’4″) could be a healthy weight between 152 and 198 as advertised in a typical BMI table. Rider position For cyclists who don’t ride on perfectly flat and smooth roads (that’s all of us, then), what matters just as much as your maximum power output is the amount of power that can be produced in relation to bodyweight — power-to-weight ratio — usually expressed in watts per kilogram. Total: 128kg. One kilogram adds just seconds to the ride, and even if you’re carrying 30kg extra, it’s just 5 minutes extra to your day. Biking burned a lot of calories. If you've learned a thing or two from me, consider supporting my independent resources HERE. By the same token, a plentiful intake of dietary protein is recommended, especially after training. me 6'0" 151 lbs bike 16.5 lbs I haven't lost or gained even a single pound since I was 19. 25kg Load: 224.40 mins @ 26.74km/h +12 mins (5.5% slower) Let your body clock decide. absolute power will be faster. >>> When’s the best time to train? Alee is a bike and travel addict who has cycled through 100+ countries and doesn't really have any plans of stopping. A heavier rider will have to produce more watts than a lighter rider to ascend the same climb. can be found on almost every bicycle related message board. 35kg Load: 197.20 mins @ 30.43km/h +5 mins (2.6% slower). If the answer is no, I will leave it behind. The cycling performance must at least include a distance and a time (and the weight of the biker). Biking for weight loss - Burning fat. Table 1 shows the relationship between power, weight and power-to-weight in more detail. The same is true of cyclists who lose weight but suffer a drop-off in maximum power — something we’ll return to. Component lists are updated almost daily. Unlike muscle tissue, excess body fat blunts power-to-weight ratio and contributes nothing to power output. In fact, remembering that absolute power is still very important, you might be worse off overall. 35kg Load: 231.20 mins @ 25.95km/h +19 mins (8.3% slower). 0. your bodyweight — is vitally important too. in this example, around 295W). Total: 108kg, Setup4: Multi-Month, All-Seasons, Some Services Again, that’s not as significant as I would’ve thought. When it comes to burning calories, cycling is a much faster way to lose weight than walking. On a perfectly flat, smooth indoor track (where gravity is not an issue) we can confidently predict that A will be faster than B. Photo: Andy Jones. Tyre pressure (adjusted to have the same rolling resistance) Weight loss over the duration of the ride, Setup1: Ultralight / BikePacking Rider: 78kg – Bike: 15kg – Gear: 35kg While improving your aerobic fitness can increase the amount of power your muscles can produce, human physiology means there’s a limit to the gains that can be achieved this way. When you weigh less, the bike and gear numbers become a bigger proportion to your total weight. But it will happen in the more mountainous parts of the world. A 100km Mountainous Ride with 2000 Metres Climbing Believe it or not, the green, I’ve just put together a plan for 2021! overcoming aerodynamic resistance), which is the same for both riders. As speeds rise, the contribution from aerodynamic resistance becomes proportionately greater. Unless there is a chunky or overly muddy course, you’ll see few of the top riders in anything but aero road shoes today. As your load goes up, you’re adding about 15 minutes per 10kg of extra gear. If someone tried hard to minimize the weight of their bike and equipment t… 6kg Load: 212.55 mins @ 28.23km/h +30 secs (0.2% slower) 10km up, 10km down x5 @ 2% Gradient Take a look at the table below to see where you line up. WattBike) where you can pedal furiously without needing to slow down for bends, traffic, etc. But if you are nowhere near these body fat ranges and have a goal to lose weight, then losing a few pounds in body fat can lead to a big difference in your strength on the bike. If you are carrying less, your bike can undoubtedly weigh less. So, why isn't there a website that already lists component & bike weights? Increase your power output while also decreasing your weight. Dura Ace 9070 Di2 groupset 2,047 grams (bicycling) (This compares to mechanical dura ace at 2,072, and previous Di2 of 2,219g) Ultegra 6870 Di2 – around 2,680g – though I seem to remember seeing one lower. WhatsApp. Touring bike (capable of actually carrying 35kg) There's a clear difference in how you approach your fitness, and cycling has something to do with it. One of my friends is an avid petrol-head who builds and races cars for a living. However, although it’s 32W less power overall, this translates into a slightly higher power-to-weight ratio of 3.80W/kg. Cycling weekly Ultegra Di2; Difference in weight. Fortunately, though, the absolute amount of power at your disposal is not the only factor in determining the performance of most cyclists. Weight will always make a difference, but there are lots of reasons to invest in good shoes and pedals. 5kg Load: 192.04 mins @ 31.24km/h The flatter the terrain, the more important absolute power becomes. Words by Andrew Hamilton If Cyclist 1 weighs 100kg and Cyclist 2 weighs 70kg, Cyclist 1 is not going to perform well on the hills. your sustainable power output); you’ll almost certainly lose a bit of excess body fat in the process. Because these sessions are quite demanding, make sure you build in sufficient recovery time into your weekly schedule — it’s during recovery that your muscles adapt and become more powerful. a 20-minute figure of 275W would equate to around 260W for an hour. Test Results from Alpe d’Huez 52.01, 275w – Normal bike + … This includes sessions such as intervals (long and shorter, more intense), hill repeats and some threshold rides. 15kg Load: 279.00 mins @ 21.51km/h +15 mins (5.7% slower) To work out your power-to-weight ratio figure, simply divide your maximum power output (in watts) by your body mass in kilograms (kg). That $200 that you spent to save 1kg off your gear is now saving you 30 seconds of ride time, which is still insignificant. Let’s illustrate this in an example: Starting height, weight, power at FTP, and strength to weight ratio. I am using BikeCalculator.com to find out the speed differences between my different bike setups, all else being equal. Instead of losing weight, I ended up gaining 20 pounds. However, both riders have had to find a massive 163W extra to overcome the increased aerodynamic resistance experienced at 32kph compared to the resistance at 16kph. A little bit of extra weight isn’t that significant in terms of time. But if A weighs 80kg and B weighs 68kg, cyclist A’s power-to-weight ratio is 3.13W/kg, while B’s is 3.31W/kg. For example, if rider A weighs 80kg and can sustain 240W, while rider B weighs 70kg and can sustain 210W, they both have a power-to-weight ratio of 3W/kg. Now suppose this 90kg rider wants an improved power-to-weight ratio. Even with enough gear capable of all-seasons and a round-the-world trip – the time penalty is only 19 minutes over a four hour ride (I really thought it would be more). How much do dynamo hubs REALLY slow you down? We’ve seen that increasing power, reducing bodyweight or a combination of both can significantly improve your power-to-weight ratio. The second requires a power output measurement. Rider: 78kg – Bike: 15kg – Gear: 6kg This article was originally printed in the March 26, 2015 issue of Cycling Weekly, Unless you only ever ride on pancake-flat surfaces, improving your power-to-weight ratio is a must, This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Editor’s Choice 2020: Our pick of the best cycling tech of the year, Ag2r La Mondiale release statement denying interest in Gianni Moscon, Tom Pidcock ‘comes of age’ as he beats Mathieu van der Poel to win the Telenet Superprestige Gavere, Increase your power output while keeping your weight constant, Keep your power output constant while decreasing your weight. My criteria for choosing gear for a bike trip these days is more simple than weight alone: will I use it regularly? Sure, you can save 1000g here and there, and you might end up with 5-10kg off your total weight – but how does that affect your speed? I see it at bike meets and on forums all the time – I get sucked into it myself. This is because accelerating mass or moving mass uphill against the force of gravity requires power. Moreover, an attempt to reduce weight when your body-fat levels are already quite low can lead to muscle mass loss as well as fat loss. To illustrate this, let’s now suppose that the riders are travelling twice as fast (32kph) but the gradient is half as steep (3.5 per cent). You may not be convinced by the numbers above. Bicycle Rolling Resistance publishes detailed reviews and articles about mountain bike and road bike tires, which have been tested on our rolling resistance roller For me, carrying 10kg extra (adding between 1 and 15 minutes to my day over 100km) so that I can have a nice cooking setup, a solid tent, a few spares, a laptop and some nice camera gear is completely justified, as long as I know I’ll be regularly using them. , This @fern_bicycles rig is the first tourer I’ve, DID YOU KNOW? Photo: Andy Jones. Your five-minute maximum power will be around 10 per cent higher than the 20-minute figure, e.g. Rotating weight, does it actually matter? Putting in more miles will not only boost your level of aerobic fitness (i.e. Conversely, if you’re covering half the above distances above, then these time differences will be less significant over the course of a day. Losing weight or losing fat, that's the question As Hamlet put it, there's a dilemma to be solved: to be or not to be, to lose weight or simply to lose fat. , The craziest thing happened to me! This seems obvious, but if your ride is completely flat, you can go pretty nuts with what you bring because it only adds a handful of minutes to your day. We can draw another conclusion: when power-to-weight ratios are identical, the rider with the highest The potential to lose weight by running or cycling depends on how you participate in the sport and how you combine it with healthy eating and other habits. Why is this? If both cyclists weigh 80kg, A will still be faster. Heck, you’d be crazy not to bring something that makes you comfortable (a full-sized camping mat, a pillow, a coffee maker) if it only weighs a few hundred grams and adds just a minute to your daily ride. Facebook. To measure maximum sustainable aerobic power, ride gently for 10 minutes to make sure you’re thoroughly warmed up. So Is Weight As Significant As We Think? Road surface A little bit … The more distance you’re looking to travel per day, the more weight matters. It is my experience that bicycle travellers tend to split into two different camps: there are people who are perfectly happy carrying everything they need to be comfortable/independent on the road (your typical bicycle tourer), and there are people who cut every corner they can, spending top dollar to shave a few kilos off their total setup (bikepackers, ultralight tourers). The following table shows the … The weight of your bike and gear is MORE important the less you weigh, or the less power you can sustain. This is simply because a pro rider can ride at near maximum capacity with far less build-up of muscle-fatiguing metabolites than an amateur or recreational rider would experience. Interestingly, this criteria can see me carrying more on an overnight trip than I do on a three-month tour of Asia…. If you weigh 180 pounds, you’d average 11.46mph. Protein is needed for recovery and repair after training, and studies show that higher intakes of protein can help prevent muscle mass loss when training volumes are high. I have cut every corner and I’ve brought everything including a kitchen sink. Breanne Nalder-Harward, MS, RDN - September 5, 2016. It follows therefore that if you have less mass to lug around, you need less power to move it. You can easily do this yourself by heading over to the website and inputting your numbers. I was desc, Thanks to everyone who has watched my latest film, The small towns and backroads of any country alway, New doco film!! The flatter the terrain, the less power-to-ratio matters and the more absolute power output matters (figure 1). Updated January 17, 2016 Watts vs. 25kg Load: 294.75 mins @ 20.36km/h +31 mins (10.5% slower) According to the empirical tests on Alpe d’Huez adding an extra 1.8 kg to wheels was an extra one minute slower than putting the weight on the bike. Well, this depends on the time period and the level at which you’re riding. 5kg Load: 263.85 mins @ 22.74km/h When you carry less gear, you can use lighter bikes with more aerodynamic bag setups. Take a couple of minutes’ rest, then ride as hard as you possibly can for 20 minutes and record your average power output figure in watts. Thanks for posting this info. Calories burned – Losing weight is all about using up calories. Differences to speed using a performance-oriented bike and bag configuration will be more significant than weight alone, but for this exercise I will be keeping it consistent by specifying a touring bike with two panniers. These are pretty typical amounts of gear that people carry on their bike trips. For example, an 80kg rider with a maximum sustainable power output of 280 watts has a power-to-weight ratio of 3.5 watts per kilo (commonly abbreviated as 3.5W/kg or 3.5W.kg-1). ‘Power-to-weight ratio’ is an oft quoted phrase in cycling – especially by cyclists who find themselves struggling when the terrain goes up. The flatter your tour route, the less weight matters. What constitutes a ‘good’ power-to-weight ratio? I will attempt to pick a day with no variation to the weather, I will maintain the same bicycle position (hoods) and I will carry the same amount of water for each run. Andrew Hamilton explains just why power-to-weight is important and how you can improve yours. Let’s find out! Our sister company UK Cycling Events hosts sportives across the country, with way-marking, feed stations, mechanical support and the motivation of riding with others. As an endurance gravel racer, many of us used to wear spd mtb shoes. On flat ground, a 150-pound person would burn roughly 600 calories cycling for an hour (depending on speed) compared to only about 300 calories per hour walking. Bikepacking bags also reduce the frontal area of a bike compared to a pannier, resulting in wind resistance savings too. Studies have shown that performing heavy resistance training for the key cycling muscles (quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks and calves) not only boosts muscle efficiency, it can help prevent the loss of muscle power during periods of high-volume training, or during periods of weight loss. You may not be convinced by the same is true of cyclists who lose weight ended gaining. 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