Originally Posted by TMonk

I've never understood this. How does riding a heavy bike make you stronger? IME it's how hard pedal that makes you strong, less the bike. Your effort is independent of the machine you're on.

If a heavy bike makes you want to push harder, then I can see how it's a good motivation tool, however.

Originally Posted by TimothyH

Saying that effort is independent of the weight of the bike is like telling a weight lifter that his effort is independent of the amount of weight being lifted.

Pushing a heavier bike up a hill is no different from pushing a heavier stack of weights in the weight room. It takes more effort to move a heavier weight.

Another way to look at it is work. Moving more mass requires more work. Someone who rode a 30 lb bike up a hill did more work than someone who rode a 20 lb bike up the same hill.


-Tim-