Originally Posted by
LMaster
Damn, I wouldn't mind being able to climb 5% at 16.2 on 0W
Yea, from looking at numbers on climbs it seems that strava estimates are decent assuming weight of rider/bike is correct in calm conditions. Get some ridiculous numbers of flat ones, or less steep climbs where the wind blows.
Regarding those top 25 - all May 18, 2013 and May 13, 2014 rides belongs to pro riders from Tour of California 2013 & 2014, all October rides are from annual Diablo Challenge climbs.
Some pro riders stripping power numbers when posting on strava - not sure why, those are not the fastest guys anyway (do not recall seeing strava rides from top 10 of Tour of California).
So when looking at top 25 you can throw away half right away (pro riders & riding in the peloton) and only look at October numbers.
There's many guys in top 50 who are non-pro and still have 300W+ for 165lb+ which tell me that 4W/kg thing is totally doable for OP or some "average person".
I would not consider height as an indicator for cycling "lean weight", you have to consider person's frame size as well.
Perhaps body fat % would be better target.
For example mesomorph with wide bones can be very lean (10% body fat or less) at 5'5" & 160lbs, there will be no practical use for such person to drop weight.