Originally Posted by
bergerkjh
Greetings,
I have a simple question that may get answered in complicated way, or in basic terms. Any help would be appreciated
Im a fixed gear rider in nyc, rides are for fitness and fun ranging from 10-30 miles. Bridges and some parts of Central Park are the extent of my hills and occasionally defeat me. I’m 6 foot 215 and fit, not super cycling fit. I ride a 48x19 gear ratio and some point would like to get a 17 so I’m not spinning like a lunatic at 30mph, but yes I realize I’ll be walking the bike up more bridges when I’m tired.
Heres the big question though. How much effect would it be if I was able to drop 10lbs of my body and get to 205 assuming I maintain relatively same overall fitness level. There must be a calculator out there in terms of watts/speed and weight maybe even with gear ratios and I just can’t find it. If folks are trying to lose grams of their bike I imagine dropping 10lbs has to be significant right?
Thanks
I'll give you a real-world example. I have lost about 4kg (~9lb) in about 8-10 weeks (just by cutting out my typical bread/chips/carb snacking, and really controlling portion size), and I've seen a difference. For some shorter climbing segments I do on Strava (anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, 5-8%), I'm putting out roughly 20-30 watts less to get the same time, compared to when I was 4kg heavier. I've not
PR'd any of my usual climbs yet, but I've come close, and again, the power output is about 20-30 watts less to achieve similar times as my
PR.
Apart from comparing my actual power numbers, I don't know of any calculator. Real world results are more important anyway. I'd suggest you lose the weight and find out what happens!
