Originally Posted by Maelstrom
Ignore bmi. Most useless measurement ever. If you have any degree of muscle mass beyond the average guy the bmi is garbage.
I personally would say 200 is big for a rider. Below that a most parts are made for the 'average' person in mind. 170 to 180. I ride in the ryno class so for me 200 is still small, but on average bikes and bike parts start to break more the closer you get to 200 and over.
I'm not sure I follow you. In what sense is BMI the "most useless measurement ever"?
I've been doing quite a bit of research on BMI recently, and it seems that the scientific evidence supports its use in assessing obesity, and in predicting relative risk of mortality (especially as it relates to cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cancer).
In October of '99, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a very large scale study titled "BODY-MASS INDEX AND MORTALITY IN A PROSPECTIVE COHORT OF U.S. ADULTS". The conclusion of this study states, "The risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other diseases increases throughout the range of moderate and severe overweight for both men and women in all age groups."
With regards to specific BMI values and mortality, the study found that "In healthy people who had never smoked, the nadir of the curve for body-mass index and mortality was found at a body-mass index of 23.5 to 24.9 in men and 22.0 to 23.4 in women." (in other words, the lowest risk of mortality for men was around BMI=24.2, while women had the lowest risk around 22.7).
This was a very large prospective study of over a
million adults. Presumably, many folks in the study had some "degree of muscle mass beyond the average guy".
Of course, additional research is needed to confirm the applicability of the results for different sub-populations. In particular, it would be interesting to see a study of cyclists or other endurance athletes, comparing mortality rates to see if BMI predicts higher death rates in people who are otherwise fit, but heavy.
SanDiegoSteve - your BMI of 26.6 is still pretty close to the low point of the mortaility curve. It doesn't really start to turn upwards until BMI gets near or above 30. Of course, if your main aim is to be faster on the bike, then getting your weight down will certainly help with that!