In my never ending, and perhaps compulsive, attempt to improve my climbing, I've invested large sums in shaving grams off the weight of my bike. Also, I've struggled every season to shed a few extra pounds off of my relatively trim body. My question is this: what is it all worth -- in some real measurement such as power? There must be a relationship between the following variables - incremental weight (in lbs), velocity (mph), incline (percent), and incremental power (watts). This is simple physics:
Incremental power(watts)= constant x incremental weight(lbs) x velocity(mph) x incline (percent). In other words, for a given velocity and incline, how many extra watts are required for each lb. of extra weight? Once you know the value of the constant in the above equation, you can solve for any combination of velocity and incline. Of course extra power is required for higher velocity, but I want to isolate the weight component for climbing. Then you can make some more intelligent decisions about buying that super light wheel set, or struggling to diet off a few more lbs.