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Health & Wellness Solution
This past winter Jim & Lori lost - and are now maintaining - a comined 50 lbs! To learn more, visit our Isagenix® page, or call 845-616-6752 to discuss.
Cyclists Power to Weight Ratio
Weight – both bike and body – plays a significant role in every aspects of a cyclist’s performance.
A bike that weighs about 18 lbs cost approximately $2000. Bike costs go up about $1000/pound to get a lighter bike. This is because of the expense of using lighter building materials such as carbon fiber & titanium. It is well documented how elite riders improve performance by reducing the weight of their bike by only a few pounds.
In addition to lowering the weight of your bike, reducing your own % body fat can have an effect on cycling performance.
Lighter riders have less weight to propel and therefore can accelerate their bikes easier, This is especially evident when riding inclines and/or climbing uphill. A light rider has less weight to propel up a hill than does a heavier rider, and therefore needs to generate less power.
The comparison of these statistics is your power to rate ratio. In a nutshell, the more power a cyclist can produce, and the less they weigh, the faster they can accelerate their bikes and the easier it is to climb up hill. One of the fastest ways to improve riding performance is to improve your power to weight ratio. Get stronger and/or lose weight is the key. Getting stronger can be looked at in years. Losing weight lets you see results in months.
