Veronica
07-25-2006, 06:48 AM
I ride a relatively heavy bike, about 25 pounds with pedals, but no water bottles or bags. And I have had several people tell me that with a lighter bike I could fly. But check out this calculator...
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
When I put in all the info to describe climbing Mt. Diablo, it shows an average speed of 6.2 for the ten mile climb, average 6% grade, at my current weight.
If I lighten the bike by 5 pounds, average speed goes to 6.3 and takes a minute off the climb.
If I lose 8 more pounds, but the bike stays the same, speed goes to 6.5 and I take 4 minutes off the climb.
If both of us lighten up, by the same amounts, speed goes to 6.6 and I take 5 minutes off the climb.
When I started training last December for doubles, I was 8 pounds heavier than I am now. That translates to speed gain of .3 mph or 4 minutes on this climb.
To me it seems that energy is better spent in lightening up this particular rider than the bike, since I want to keep the bike comfortable for LONG rides.
V.
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
When I put in all the info to describe climbing Mt. Diablo, it shows an average speed of 6.2 for the ten mile climb, average 6% grade, at my current weight.
If I lighten the bike by 5 pounds, average speed goes to 6.3 and takes a minute off the climb.
If I lose 8 more pounds, but the bike stays the same, speed goes to 6.5 and I take 4 minutes off the climb.
If both of us lighten up, by the same amounts, speed goes to 6.6 and I take 5 minutes off the climb.
When I started training last December for doubles, I was 8 pounds heavier than I am now. That translates to speed gain of .3 mph or 4 minutes on this climb.
To me it seems that energy is better spent in lightening up this particular rider than the bike, since I want to keep the bike comfortable for LONG rides.
V.