Cyclists who struggle as the terrain climbs sometimes refer to "power to weight ratio." In addition, several Grand Tour competitors lay a great deal of significance on this method.
But fortunately, most cyclists' success is not solely determined by their power output. It's also critically crucial to consider how much mass you have to move about, or your bodyweight. Masses must be moved uphill against gravity's influence in order to accelerate or move them faster. Deduced from this, moving a smaller object requires less power.
Power-to-weight ratio, generally stated in watts per kilogram, is equally as important for cyclists who don't ride on completely flat, straight roads. Dividing your maximal wattage (in watts) by your body mass (in kg) yields your power-to-weight ratio (kg).
Dividing your maximal power output (in watts) by your body mass (in kg) will yield your power-to-weight ratio (kg). If a cyclist weighs 65 kilograms and produces 180 watts of maximum sustained power, then the rider's power-to-weight ratio is 2.7 W/kg (often represented as 3.5W.kg-1).
1. How to Calculate Your Power to Weight Ratio
To decide your PWR, dividing your body weight in pounds by 2.2 to change it to kilograms, at that point separate the normal control from a 20- or 30-minute time trial by your weight in kilograms.
Average Power/ Body Weight (kg) = PWR watts/kg
Equal to
Average Power/ [Body Weight lbs./ 2.2] = PWR watts/kg
2. Knowing Power-to-Weight Ratio Per Kilogram
The power-to-weight ratio may not change at all if your power output improves, but your weight also rises. As with cyclists who lose weight, they will see a reduction in maximum power. More information is provided in Table 1, which explains the connection between power, weight, and power-to-weight ratio in cycling. Take a close look at the table, and you'll see that the power-to-weight ratios increase as energy output and bodyweight increase — that is, to the right of the table. Any particular power-to-weight ratio (3W/kg) may be accomplished at much lower pure power levels when the rider is relatively lightweight.
This 80kg rider, on the other hand, may desire a higher power-to-weight ratio. Power-to-weight ratio increases from 3.0 to 3.4 w/kg if he or she loses 10 kg (dropping to 70 kg), which is a greater improvement than maintaining weight and focusing on aerobic fitness to reach 240 watts. Because of this, even if your aerobic fitness remains the same, losing extra body mass (fat) can enhance performance.
3. What makes power-to-weight so important when facing wind and hills ?
The force of gravity must be overcome in order to move mass upward, as we have seen previously. This explains why Power to Weight Ratio Is So Important in Climbing. Despite this, ultimate power is still a crucial component of success.
Using a hill of 7% gradient at 16kph (10 miles per hour) in winds, let's examine the power needs of 70kg and 80kg cyclists riding a 6kg road bike. For an 80kg rider, a power-to-weight ratio of 3.73W is required based on statistics on rolling and airflow resistance. Using the same bike, a 70kg rider only needs 266W of power to climb the same hill at the same speed.
Despite the fact that most of the cyclists' power requirements are a function of their body mass (since they're ascending), both riders have to perform extra effort (i.e. overcome aerodynamic resistance) in order to push the air out of their path. The aerodynamic resistance will increase proportionally with the speed. Power-to-weight becomes less important as a result of this. Real-world riders are likely to have a higher frontal surface area, which increases their aerodynamic resistance even more.
a 70kg cyclist uses 32W less power than an 80kg rider to sustain 32kph. There was also a significant 163W difference between the resistance at 32kph and the resistance at 16kph for both cyclists.
Increased upper and lower body strength will enhance energy transmission to the pedals, boost muscle fiber power, and avoid different forms of discomfort, such as back pain, during lengthy rides.
4. Testing Your Own Power Output
Warm up for 10 minutes before measuring your maximum aerobic power. Next, bike hard for 20 minutes and note your average power production in watts. This is your highest sustained power output for 20 minutes. An hour's power production will be 5-10% lower (according to fitness) than this amount. For example, 275W for 20 minutes would be equivalent to around 260W for an hour. Five-minute maximum power will be about 10% greater than 20-minute maximum power (in this case, around 295W) in order to avoid overheating.
5. Tips For Improving Your Power-To-Weight Ratio
Beginners/Novices
Your power-to-weight ratio will improve just by cycling more miles. Your aerobic fitness (i.e., your sustained power output) will improve as you log more kilometers, and you'll almost likely burn some body fat in the meantime.
Fitter and Be a expert
Adding additional miles isn't enough. Yes, running more kilometers can help you lose weight, but if you run too many, you run the danger of becoming fatigued and burning out. In addition, attempting to lose weight while your body fat level is already low might result in both muscle and fat loss. A reduction in weight may result in a loss in muscular power, resulting in limited power-to-weight ratio gains. However, if you keep in mind the reality that absolute power is still highly essential, you might end up being worse off than you were before.
In order to maximize power production, it is preferable to integrate particular training in your routine. For example, you may do hill repeats or interval training sessions (shorter ones that are more intensive than longer ones). Make sure you include enough recovery time into your week because these workouts are extremely taxing. Your muscles develop and become more strong during recuperation.
Weight Loss Training
Weight training is another effective technique, especially for more experienced cyclists. As a result, studies have indicated that strong strength training for the main cycling muscles (quadriceps, hamstring and calves) can assist avoid muscular power loss during high-volume training or weight-reduction phases.
Nutrition
Any rider's power-to-weight ratio will benefit from eating healthily. When all other factors are equal, increased sugar intake and sugary meals in particular have been related to higher amounts of body fat without a doubt. Excess body fat, on the other hand, reduces power-to-weight ratio and does not contribute to power production.The same goes for protein consumption, which should be high, especially after exercise. High protein intakes can aid prevent muscle loss when exercise volumes are high, according to research.
Conclusion
Also, you may have noticed that the pros have power to weight relationships that are absolutely unimaginable to us mortals. You can use it as motivation instead of letting it bring you down. Decide which of these methods you want to pursue first, and then develop a plan for achieving that objective.
Now that you know what your power-to-weight ratios are, you can start working on increasing them. These articles will help you to get started.
So, let's wrap up. This is a basic notion, but it's a strong gauge of climbing performance and how we compare to others. Looking at the physics underlying these ratios is a good way to remind ourselves that power output and weight are the two major levers we can use to increase our climbing pace.
Most recreational cyclists, though, have plenty of potential to grow in both categories. If you want to improve your climbing, there are a number of things you may do.
