There is nothing better than weight loss for improving cycling performance. Lower body weight improves hill climbing and reduces frontal area that lowers aerodynamic drag. Plus heat rejection is better improving performance on hot days. So what is not to like?

6 feet 173 / 78.6 This is a good track weight for me although it is too heavy for hill climbing.

I'll bite;

I'm 6'0" and 207lbs. I should get down to 185 by this time next year.

I was 245lbs and sedentary 6 years ago. I don't race or ride with competitive groups, but less is more when it comes to weight & cycling.

6'6" - Vacation eating + fewer training hours has me up a few pounds: 191.5/86.8 I'll get back to my desired 85kg during base phase easily enough, but I'd like to do it sooner rather than later. I hate feeling even a bit over what I consider my ideal weight.

Hovering around 158. Need to see 150 for Nats. Hopefully the addition of more miles will start to knock some of this off.

6'3" and a ridiculous 202lbs/92k. No wonder I can't climb. Need to make sure that my enforced lay-off doesn't make things worse.

6'0", 160lb.

I love all the weight loss stories when people discover cycling. The triple-digit losses always make me tear up. Mine was much more modest, but caught me by surprise because even at my highest weight I thought of myself as thin. In retrospect, I was a soft doughboy! Cycling is dangerous to be sure... but for me, not cycling is more dangerous.

Hi Hermes,

You should have also put the phrase 'Public Embarrassment' in the title of this thread.

5 ft 6-3/4 inches, 153 lbs. Need to get to 145 lbs or less by nationals on Sep 2nd.

Oh, well, if we're counting fractions of an inch, I'll report my full height of 6'3 and 1/2". After all, I need all the help I can get, BMI-wise...

6' and 146 lbs. I'd like to get to 141 by the end of September, for the Everest Challenge. I've been there or lower in the past. 5 lbs would be worth about 17 minutes overall, which should be worth a few places.

ericm979, I hate you.

Ouch. Which just goes to show why I should take up time-trialling. If I got down to the lowest weight I have been since I stopped growing - a seriously lean 180 - you'd still outclimb me without breaking sweat.

What's funny is that cat 1 guys who can out-climb me while doing one legged drills are jealous of my light weight. What they really want is their power with my weight but that's not how it works. If you're built like an Ethiopian marathon runner like I am, you don't get much power. But I'm tall so I have a lot of frontal area and therefore drag.

The same way that some riders fear hills, I fear long flat stretches with headwinds.

A couple of years ago, I sagged a cycling camp. I was parked at the top of a 6 mile climb and the first one to the top was a 17 old male. He said, "Boy, I was ridiculous on the climb". There was a woman with me who was also doing the camp but not that climb. She said, "If I told my friends that I was ridiculous, they would have a totally different interpretation".

The kid put about 4 minutes into some really good climbers. He would make Froome look overfed.

I'm that guy. But understand I weighed 127 lbs when I joined the Army.

I think this is the right philosophy:

I'm the usual 186-188 lbs and 5' 11". That was my college weight while competing in the decathlon. I recently found out that with a short breath I can sit on the ocean bottom. It is what it is, and I'll just stay away from mountain races.

ericm979, I can actually empathize with you. At one point in my storied bike racing career, I was 1/4 inch taller and 20+ lbs lighter. At 128 lbs, I could dance on the pedals on climbs and easily get dropped in criteriums -- especially when the wind was blowing. I think my "best" racing weight was 132-135 lbs but I'll never see that again. I managed to get down to 148 lbs for nationals last year but my crash 1 month before really took the edge off my fitness. I'd like to be lighter and injury-free this year. We'll see how it goes.

Hey, we tall guys have to bear some burdens, seeing as how we get all the hot chicks.

5' 91/2, 160ish. But not fit. My heart is fat.

5'11", 174lbs.....trying to get to 170lbs, those last few are hard especially when there's donuts...........hmmm donuts.

LOL. This is true. It's not having to make any effort to chase women that made me fat.

5'10", currently 146 lbs. My normal race weight is 141 lbs. I have faith in The Force. I am not concerned.

6'3" and 200 ~ but I'll throw my 54 years of age out there too. Harder to keep it down as I got older. But, I have been biking more the last 2 years after my hip replacement. Couldn't ride much at all nine years prior. So all in all doing and feeling good on the bike but would like to hang around that 195 mark. I do think biking has been great for staying in shape and building up my muscle again.

6'2" and 172 but aiming for 165.......

This thread might enable any weight issues I may have; I respectfully decline from posting my weight.

All you need to know is that I'm a minute faster than last year in my 10 mile TT.

I could weight 150; would you care? Would it matter?

Disclaimer: I do not weight 150. I'm 5'6" and xxx lbs. I'm improving. Why does weight matter if I'm improving? What if I'm fat (relatively) and fast?