Originally Posted by
xroadcharlie
Fist, Being lighter does not mean better for hills. Quite the contrary, A heavier person with a reasonable % of body fat might very well be faster if he has stronger legs. .
Being lighter is better if all else is equal. If a given rider loses weight he will climb faster until he starts losing strength. A person can be a great climber at a very low fat %. The only issue then is some with very low % may not have long term endurance.
With recreational cyclists there are so many variables you can't just look at fat% or even weight, within reason, as you noted. As an over 200 pound rider I suck at climbs but I sometimes drop younger, smaller riders.