Power:weight ratios
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Beebo
Firm and Fruity
- Location
- Hexleybeef
Well he doesn’t weigh much so his power to weight ratio is high, even though his actual power output isn’t that high.
Think the opposite of someone like Chris Hoy, who has huge power, but weighs a lot so has a poor power to weight ratio.
Think the opposite of someone like Chris Hoy, who has huge power, but weighs a lot so has a poor power to weight ratio.
marzjennings
Guru
- Location
- Houston, Texas, USA
For the same reason a hot hatch will beat a V8 muscle off the line, but get caught up eventually. Shifting an increased mass requires increased power and to produce more power you often need more mass, and unfortunalty the relationship isn’t linear.
I ran a quick calc and if Simon is 58kg and is conditioned to ride an average of 350watt, then up a 10% incline he’ll manage 16.6kph and on the flat about 38kph. Now if he added on bit of muscle to produce more power, maybe getting up to averaging 400watts for a new weight of 70kg then he’ll be slower on the climbs at 16.3kph, but a bit quicker on the flat at 38.8kph. Which for a flattish course could mean the difference between winning or not.
I use this power calc if I want to see the impact of power, mass, incline, etc on speed... http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
I ran a quick calc and if Simon is 58kg and is conditioned to ride an average of 350watt, then up a 10% incline he’ll manage 16.6kph and on the flat about 38kph. Now if he added on bit of muscle to produce more power, maybe getting up to averaging 400watts for a new weight of 70kg then he’ll be slower on the climbs at 16.3kph, but a bit quicker on the flat at 38.8kph. Which for a flattish course could mean the difference between winning or not.
I use this power calc if I want to see the impact of power, mass, incline, etc on speed... http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
Specialeyes
Guru
- Location
- Essex
To over-simplify: TTs tend to be flatter, so less of the rider's power is devoted to overcoming gravity and more of it is devoted to going very fast in a (relatively) straight line. Skipping past square-cube laws and aerodynamics, power in a TT is largely spent on overcoming wind resistance, which makes it more about absolute power rather than relative power.
Emma Pooley, who knows a thing or two about both climbing and TTs, explains it better
Emma Pooley, who knows a thing or two about both climbing and TTs, explains it better
BalkanExpress
Guru
- Location
- Brussels
To over-simplify: TTs tend to be flatter, so less of the rider's power is devoted to overcoming gravity and more of it is devoted to going very fast in a (relatively) straight line. Skipping past square-cube laws and aerodynamics, power in a TT is largely spent on overcoming wind resistance, which makes it more about absolute power rather than relative power.
Emma Pooley, who knows a thing or two about both climbing and TTs, explains it better
Fact: the pixie Pictionary has a picture of Emma Pooley for the entry “myrhical small creature with near magical powers”