[celswick]

I started back riding about 18 months ago after about 15-20 years away. During those years, I gained a bunch of weight, and was about 245 (5’9”) when I started riding again in March 2020 at 53 years old.

Now I’m down to about 205 and I’m notably faster than before. Probably a lot of the speed came from familiarity with the trails, improved cardio, and improved skills. I know part of it also comes from carrying less weight.

For example, my local trail is 7 miles, mostly flowy with a few short, steep hills and rooty sections through a pine forest. When I first started, I was lucky to even finish a lap. I started timing myself once I could complete a lap, and my time was 38-40 minutes. I usually do 2 laps, and ride to and from the trail (10 miles r/t on pavement).

18 months later, I’m doing the same loop in 31 minutes. I know my weight is still an issue.

What I’m wondering is—will I be noticeably faster if I lose another 25 pounds (180), or have I already made all the large gains, and any future gains will be minimal? For reference, the fastest Strava times for that loop are 26 minutes. I know I’ll never reach that, but I’d like to think I could hit 29-30 minutes.

I know there are tons of variables, etc, but I thought it may make for interesting discussion since I know some of you have probably been in a similar situation.


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[mtnbkrmike]

In my view, yes. I weigh 185. When I get to 180, I notice a BIG difference on the trail. 25 pounds is a massive drop.

 

[MSU Alum]

At one point, I had gotten up to 168 pounds (I'm 5'9" tall and 69 years old). I went on a low carb diet and dropped to 152. I time my climbs and I was not faster at 152, but it's due to nutrition. I got back up to 162 and was actually faster.

A couple of years later, I dropped back down to 152 just by not snacking at night and I was very fast.
So, lower weight helps, but only if you still have proper nutrition, or you might lose muscle mass as well.

 

[127.0.0.1]

25lbs yes.

that's a whole bike...think about it next time you might need to heft that bike
on uphill chunk when gassed, then if you didn't have the 25lb load....

 

[Sparticus]

I went from 205# in January to 185# in May and was surprised & impressed by how much easier it was to climb & how much faster I could climb without feeling fatigued.

That weight loss was sooo worth the effort.

"Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels." --Jenny Craig
=sParty

 

[rtsideup]

I think that physics says that you will be slower on the downhills.

 

[CLDSDL43]

Just carry around a 5lb bag of flour, sugar, something up stairs, running around, ...
Doesn't take many lbs lost to increase speed
Or just feeling better in general.

 

[J.B. Weld]

It's not just the weight, your body will also operate more efficiently when you're lighter. 205 to 180 would make a huge difference.

 

[paramount3]

Force = mass* acceleration. If you have to do a lot of acceleration in your riding (which includes climbing, turning, slowing down) then you should get faster overall, assuming you can apply the same amount of force at 205 lb as you can at 180 lbs. (Big assumption--see below) However, the speed you can maintain in a straight line is more of a function of sustained power vs resistant force, which is a combination of wind resistance (very important at 28 mph on the road) and rolling resistance (very important on muddy trails, for example). Here, you are probably going to generate more sustained power at the heavier weight, and you might be faster. Think of classics riders who do well in Paris-Roubaix vs climbers who do well in the Alps. In general, the lighter you can get, while maintaining power output, the better. But each person will encounter a (low) weight at which power output really begins to suffer. Distance and time probably matter as well. Usain Bolt wasn't the world's fastest man in the marathon.

 

[Grinchy8]

You will meet your time goal if you continue to work on your body comp. It is some lose fat and some gain muscle and lots eat right. Also consider getting into cycle specific exercise, like with a riprow.

 

[OldMike]

I notice even 5lbs.
Added weight (or there lack of) effects speed/times, endurance and recovery times IME.
As you get closer to you optimum, the delta (times) become smaller but still noticeable

 

[r-rocket]

It's not just the weight, your body will also operate more efficiently when you're lighter. 205 to 180 would make a huge difference.

There is also a point where fat loss impacts body cooling too. At my heaviest I found myself having to stop to cool off in the shade because of overheating, even though my muscles were still OK.

 

[J.B. Weld]

Think of classics riders who do well in Paris-Roubaix vs climbers who do well in the Alps.

True but even the "big" classic riders are about 170 pounds tops. I understand what you're saying and agree with most of it. Big, powerful dudes can excel in track racing and flat criteriums, some guys race pro at 200# or maybe even more in those type of events.

The problem is that mountain biking that I'm familiar with involves a lot of climbing so carrying a light frame is nearly always an advantage, to a point of course.

More importantly though I'd like to congratulate the op. Going from 245 to 205 is a great accomplishment and it must feel pretty dang good. Nice work!

 

[celswick]

One thing I’ll have to add about my body composition—I’ve got really defined and muscular legs, and very defined (but not that muscular) arms. Most of my extra weight is flab on my torso, which leads me to believe I could drop 20 pounds without losing muscle mass.

I’ve started doing push-ups, pull ups,
etc to build strength and muscle in my upper body. Still working to burn off that layer of flab, though.


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[Flyer]

Yeh, this snaking at night (especially sugary stuff) has definitely made me a faster coaster downhill. No doubt. Not sure if that is a good strategy yet. I will try to lose 10 lbs, in honor of this thread. No more Assumption Abbey fruitcake or Dove chocolates then? Fine!

 

[walkerwalker]

I like these threads where we all tell each other to exercise. I mean, if vague encouragement from other random anonymous fat people on the internet doesn't work, than I don't know what will.

 

[celswick]

I like these threads where we all tell each other to exercise. I mean, if vague encouragement from other random anonymous fat people on the internet doesn't work, than I don't know what will.

Every little bit helps!

 

[Blatant]

Not an armchair engineer, so no idea how much faster you’ll be in a bike. I can say without hesitation that losing more weight will make your body work more effectively and likely give you a better quality of life in general.

 

[abeckstead]

Unnecessary weight is always the enemy in sports. Are you looking to race? Or just improve your personal times? I’m 6’4” and currently 186lbs, heaviest was 235lbs and most recently I was 200lbs. I have a Wyze scale now that is a neat gadget. Shows me muscle mass, body fat, water content and a bunch of other stats. Just dropping into the 180’s has felt refreshing. I can definitely feel the difference on my rides. I race and I’m looking to race even more next year. There is a point of diminishing returns though and let’s be real here, most of us here aren’t elite athletes. Do things to get healthy (within reason) go ride your bike and have fun!


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[Le Duke]

1) Less to fuel

2) Less to hydrate

3) Less to cool

4) Less to carry up hills

5) Less to accelerate with every pedal stroke

6) If your body mass stays the same but your composition gets leaner, you will have more glycogen available for cycling.

So, while in terms of instantaneous speed, it’s a linear relationship between watts/kg (mass/power), it’s a more complex equation over time. All of which favor being leaner.


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