Don't believe what they all say about "weight".

[gavroche]

Many cyclists go on about body weight ratio to power ratio with the belief that the lighter you are, the faster you go. Well, I weight 13.75 stones for 5'7 and age 62 and my weight tends to remain constant as I don't do diet and eat what I want.
Now, when I am on a ride, many a time, I am passed by people much heavier than me judging by their body frame. These guys seem to have very powerful legs though and loads of stamina as I watch them pedal with a regular rhym, even when going uphill. I was behind such a cylist last week-end. I was just starting up and still warming up when he passed me. I jumped into his wheel and followed him for a couple a miles before we went our separate ways.The road was gently undulating and he never changed gear once, just pushing harder on the pedals when needed. I use my gears all the time, according to the terrain. So bang goes the theory about being slim and super fit I thought! It might be ok for real professionals but don't seem to affect the common mortal so much on cycling runs. I think the muscles in your legs are more important than your body weight, up to a point of course.

 

[ianwoodi]

All depends on how fast you were going up the hill. I am 5ft 7in like you and a year ago around same weight now i am 10st and can reach the top of hills alot faster

 

[Cycleops]

Although muscle is obviously important I thought it was more to do with stamina and your heart's ability to pump the blood around your body. This is why Bradley Wiggins has been so successful as I understand he has a huge capacity heart enabling him to keep going for longer. I know this is where I fail, being the same age as the op I struggle over longer distances even though I am very slim.

 

[Sittingduck]

CV fitness is very important but to discount weight is foolish. You need to output more power to maintain the same speed as a lighter cyclist, if you are heavier. That isn't to say that it cannot be done but that extra has to come from somewhere, right...? I am talking mainly about going uphill and on inclines. Obviously a heavier person can get more speed downhill if simply freewheeling and this can help carry us over rolling terrain. When you're going uphill though - all things being equal between two people (e.g. CV fitness), the the lighter guy will either be faster or be reqired to output less power to climb at the same speed, which in the end - will be telling.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

It's entirely possible to be fat and fit. Being rake thin isn't a sign of "fitness" even though that word,has multiple definitions.

 

[400bhp]

Bang goes the theory based on some bod that Gavroche sat behind on some incline or other.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Could it be that age and cardio-vascular condition has something to do with it too?

 

[Flying Dodo]

I've lost 6 kg in 6 weeks this spring, and the same hills feel faster. Haven't timed myself up hills though, although having checked the clock, my flat-ish commute into work is definitely faster.

 

[GrasB]

Disclaimer: this makes a whole shed load of assumptions & is very simplistic. I just don't want to write a huge essay on the subject.
All mass on a persons body helps produce power, including fat it's just fat doesn't help produce many watts, even if someone has a low PWR a lot of weight produces a high absolute power figure. When aerodynamic drag is the primary source of resistance then absolute power trumps PWR. On gently undulating terrain aerodynamics is going to be your primary source of drag.

However when you get sustained gradients absolute power isn't as important as PWR. Lighter people typically have a higher PWR than heaver people for the same level of training & ability. But in this case without sustained climbs you'll not see this effect.

Heaver people also tend to be able to apply more force to pedals as they're constantly doing resistance training compared to a lighter person. This isn't a good thing or bad thing, it's just different. I ride fixed gear because it forces me to be flexible in my riding & gets me used to muscling up hills etc. I race on geared because I can maximise my performance by not muscling up hills but saving that high force bits for accelerating hard when needed etc.

'Endurance' is a funny one. Often bigger people who look like they can go on forever hit simply hit their personal endurance brick wall. Lighter people tend to have more of a ramp to climb up so have some warning before they run out of endurance.

 

[Crackle]

It's true what they say about wait.

 

[derrick]

It's true what they say about wait.

What do they sat about wait.

 

[Crackle]

What do they sat about wait.

All things come to those who weight

 

[Rob3rt]

What do they sat about wait.

That before you say something dumb, you should wait. This decreases the chance of making a fool out of yourself!

 

[derrick]

That before you say something dumb, you should wait. This decreases the chance of making a fool out of yourself!

You obviously don't.

 

[gam001]

Many cyclists go on about body weight ratio to power ratio with the belief that the lighter you are, the faster you go. Well, I weight 13.75 stones for 5'7 and age 62 and my weight tends to remain constant as I don't do diet and eat what I want.
Now, when I am on a ride, many a time, I am passed by people much heavier than me judging by their body frame. These guys seem to have very powerful legs though and loads of stamina as I watch them pedal with a regular rhym, even when going uphill. I was behind such a cylist last week-end. I was just starting up and still warming up when he passed me. I jumped into his wheel and followed him for a couple a miles before we went our separate ways.The road was gently undulating and he never changed gear once, just pushing harder on the pedals when needed. I use my gears all the time, according to the terrain. So bang goes the theory about being slim and super fit I thought! It might be ok for real professionals but don't seem to affect the common mortal so much on cycling runs. I think the muscles in your legs are more important than your body weight, up to a point of course.

As a larger (being polite!) cyclist myself (5'8" and 15.5 stones), I can quite easily motor along on flat or rolling terrain with some good club cyclists. I can even muscle my way up short, sharp inclines in the big ring and recover OK the other side. I quite often overtake other cyclists on this kind of terrain.

However, anything longer than a couple of hundred yards at 10%+ gradient and I have to slow down and gear down, as I just can't maintain the power needed for the duration. I have a power meter and you won't believe how much extra power is required to maintain speed up a steep hill when you're heavy, eg 400-500 watts, which is a lot for mere amateurs for more than a minute or two!

So I agree with you to a point, but as soon as it gets steep it's a totally different ball game gav