On the frame or around the middle

[pjd57]

Is this all just a polite way of telling the fat blokes to lose a few pounds ?

Says the wee skinny runt !

 

[MrBeanz]

Arnold on a bike isnt such a good example. Arnold has more to tow, but a disproportiomately high level of muscle mass with which to do so. The numbers start to skew a little when you look at those with higher muscle mass than simply lard-O's, because while the beefcakes have extra mass a greater proportion of that extra mass is itself available to do work, and not simply a passive passenger. I'm not a fast rider simply because my aero is all wrong and I've never trained to be specifically quick jn any cycling discipline, but a number of supposedly accomplished club competitors have had to eat their words after riding North Wales with me.

As a big rider 6'1 230 pounds, I was told by just about every rider I've met that I was too big too climb. Training for months climbing 40,000 ft per month I did pretty well. I signed up for a timed event promoted as serious cyclists only. Buddies and other forum members said I would be near the back since I was so heavy.

I am happy to say that I finished #123 out of 400 registered competitors.

As far as the flats, all that climbing makes you stronger and the flats are a breeze. I'll tell you, when I ride into the wind, I have a ton of guys hopping on the back.

But just as there are some big guys that can climb, don't forget the skinny guys who kick butt on the flats. It's all about training!

FTR, I ride heavy Velocity Deep V rims at 520 grams rim only. I was told to ditch the heavy wheels but hey, the guys who told me that were well behind me on the timed event. Some didn't even finish. After all the talk on the forums about being heavy before the ride, I sure had some fun with those guys after the ride!

I will say that the wheels have never felt heavy to me unless I ate too much pasta that week.

This was the timed event, 100 miles with nearly 10,000 ft of gain.

Looking around, I think I was probably the only one pushing a standard 39/25 set up but hey, at the top of the climb I was still smiling!

I will add that I never worry about shaving weight off the bike. For this big guy, it's all about training.