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A Weight Problem......?

Here is a puzzle if you could take a stone off your weight today what effect would this have on your cycle pace over say an Ironman distance?



Say you average 16mph for the distance would the reduction in weight take you up to 17-18mph average?



Any one any thoughts on it



Cheers



do tri[8D]

Comments

  • Free WillyFree Willy Posts: 63
    do tri



    My experience is that I have got faster on the bike because I rode more (around 200km a week building to 350km for IM) and because I rode more I lost weight around 20kg in 2 years, the first 10 or so came off quickly the last 10 more slowly. I mix up my bike training with group rides, solo hill repeats recovery rides and spinerval sessions on my indoor trainer (which is outdoors as I am not allowed to use it inside - it is a sweat machine!). I am still not fast enough though, and my downhill with the wind behind speed has slowed as the weight has come off!



    Hope this is of some use.



    FW
  • do trido tri Posts: 12
    thanks FW you ve lost a lot of kgs



    what I was getting at was , is there a rule of thumb of how much your avg mph improves on the same routes, for a corresponding weight loss, if me and my bike weigh 13st for example if the combined weight dropped to 12st how much quicker would that make me?



    cheers



    do tri[8D]
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    Hmmm matey Im afraid it just isnt that simple!



    For starters weight is hugely ambiguous, i.e. that stone your on about might be mostly composed of muscle! this could happen if you crash dieted and didnt take in the correct nutrition to replace the muscle breakdown as a result of intense exercise. This could cause a decrease in power so you would get slower!



    Another side of it is the route you are doing, as a drop in weight will help you loads going up hills, but not as much on the flats/ down hills.



    So any opinion anyone could have on this topic would be a pure (possibly educated!) guess. But i would say that on a hilly course, yes i think you could expect at least a mph increase with a stone of FAT lost, as you will fly up the hills in comparison!



    sorry i cant provide anymore answers!
  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    the lighter the better - turn the question around if you strapped 5kg to your bike how much slower would you be?

    Avoid losing good weight ie muscle mass but this is difficult to lose anyway - you need to STARVE yourself or contract a wasting condition. Lose fat as fat does not move bikes or you - it is dead weight. yes yes yes it is an energy store but how much of it can be mobilised and used during exercise, training or even an ironman? I think the body will use carbohydrates and as long as you eat during an event you will use very little or no fat.

    In other words lose fat go faster and avoid the excuses of "I need it as an energy store"

  • Free WillyFree Willy Posts: 63
    do tri



    Yes a fair amount of weight, I am an ex rugby player (gave up because of bad knees), the weight was probably not all fat but it certainly was in the wrong places for triathlon. When I started riding I could not ride up hills at all, now I still do not like them but I do get up them (just!) so it is certainly a benefit. I also discovered that I had some food allergies so I had to modify my diet as well and I found that changing my pre-ride brekky also made a big differrence as often an hour into a ride I would feel uncomfortable in the guts, but now I have a combination of Oatbrits, spoonful of unprocessed honey and soymilk before each ride and have no more problems, obviously I have gels/bananas/electrolyte drinks during a long ride as well (2-5 hours etc).



    I also use any excuse to ride, when meeting up with a training partner to run etc I ride to his place, run and ride back, it may only be 20 minutes each way (with a couple of hills) but it all helps. So just ride everywhere you can.



    Cheers



    FW





  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    I am surprised as to why Power to Weight ratio does not crop up more in these threads that seem to degenerate into 0% fat is good.

    Strap 5kg to the panniers and it will have more of an effect than 1.25kg strapped to each of your limbs.Kinectic/potential energy and all that.0% fat or a very low bodyfat content increases your reliance on nutrition to make it to the finish line as your body has no reserves.
  • I rode to work today with shower gel, towell, change of clothes, book, ipod, phone, wallet and a pair of toe-tectors in the bag and it half way killed me! It is a hilly ride but even on the flat the extra weight really seemed to take it out of me, lessons have been learnt and I will never carry excess weight on a training ride again! Average speed dropped from approx. 30km/h to 25km/h.
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    How much extra weight (other than the obvious) do you take out when you go training.When I started it was Dunlop Green Flash pumps and rugby kit for running.And maybe a house key.Now its technical clothing,I pod,phone,sports drink,keys,money and heart rate monitor .Now thats about 800grams of excess weight there.
  • BarbsaramaBarbsarama Posts: 73
    Staplehursttrilover i would have thought that the effect of the extra weight would have made you more determined to improve your speed WITH the extra weight and then when you don't have it you will be more efficient. I commute every day to work and back on my bike, carrying all sorts of things like a change of clothes, shower equipment, towel (that's a biggie), books, occasionally even my hair dryer! And on the way home i cycle for 3kms non stop up a hill (plus a few extra up and downs to make up the 15km each way that i ride). The weekends when I do my long training rides are the only time i don't carry extra weight, i think carrying the weight to and from work makes a big difference. Like adding resistance.
  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    I did a bit of looking up on this and there are tables on it and also there are various theses on this topic every year. I forget where I saw the tables but it was eithr through a Burke link - Serious Cyclng etc or through the Journal of Sports Medicine. Anyway they go on and on and on and on about power to weight ratio. This is probably not much help but I found it mildly stimulating
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    This is great ,now we can start to discuss how the shift of the centre of gravity can improve bike handling and thus increase speed. Having an aero bottle on the front in the tri bars may improve aerodynamics but does the extra weight over the front wheel create a negative effect on the bikes handling,it may sound boring but if the new shimpagmavram groupset saves 23grams on last years where can we stop ourselves when it comes to weight issues.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    I tried running without the technical clothing..got arrested despite my ingenoius I pod holder....
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    Wouldn't the constabulary believe you were wearing the latest in lightweight,waterproof,breathable, self repairing running attire and your sponsership labels had fallen off!!!![:D]
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    I know..unbelievable innit? Mind you if I had an M-Dot tattoo....
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