Why are men faster on bikes?

[roguedog]

Curious about this. I've always heard that women have more leg muscles so I'd think that we'd at least be equal in this sport.

Or is it because in cycling you also use lots of core muscles and they just plain have more of those?

[Veronica]

I'm faster than my husband.


Men generally have a higher power to weight ratio.


V.

[xeney]

<grumble> This week I am inclined to think it is just because their bikes fit better. </grumble>

[RoadRaven]

Easy question to answer... its physiological...

Men are designed with more muscle than women, and women will therefore never have the power at man at the equivilent fitness level and training will have.

It is crazy to try and compare yourself to men's best times as a goal or aspiration... however, I must confess I have "male targets" in my club - they are in the grade above me or the top of my grade... and my goal in a flat race or a time trial is to beat them. I set my target on one and then, once I have beaten his time, I seek my next target.

I would set women in my sights, but at the level I am, most of the women are younger - under 19, or seniors. As a Vet 1, almost Vet 2 I am never going to beat them...

[tattiefritter]

I also read it was something to do with VO2 Max and oxygen uptake/use...women also generally have smaller hearts/lungs.

Whatever the reason, they just are

I generally ride with blokes all the time (mainly MTB) and while there are a few that I can stay with (and annihilate downhill, yay!) its usually because they are not at their fittest, they put some miles in and they start to pull away again.

Not sure about road but on the MTB I think that the weight of the bike makes a big difference as well, my BF and I both have full suss bikes around the 27lb mark but he's around 50 lbs heavier than me. His bike is a smaller proportion of his body weight (coupled with the fact that he's as strong as a bloody horse) and he can just steam uphill in gears that would bring me to a standstill.

[RoadRaven]

Yup... aerobic capacities are definately a factor.

(2003) the highest VO2 max ever recorded for a man was 94ml/kg/min... the highest women's aerobic power measured was 77ml/kg/min... both were Nordic skiers.

Absolute muscle power outputs also vary significantly with women being well below men.

Women have a higher fat percentage than men (cause our bodies are designed to carry and sustain children)

Men have a higher muscle mass.

Because women have less muscle mass, they cannot generate as much force as a man.

The average women's total body strength is about 1/3 less than the average man's. Women are relatively stronger than men in their legs and weaker in the abdomen and arms.

There is a common figure used as a guideline to describe the difference between elite female atheletes and elite male atheletes of about 10% regardless of the sport... cycling, weight lifting, sprinting...

HOWEVER... despite the physiological differences, women are still capable of training at comparable levels and intensities... only the volume of training may vary slightly.