# 5w or 1kg - which is better

**URL:** <https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/5w-or-1kg-which-is-better/74250>\
**Category:** Training\
**Created:** [July 10, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/5w-or-1kg-which-is-better/74250 "2022-07-10T16:00:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 72

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**Author:** ![KWcycling](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/trainerroad/forum/user_avatar/www.trainerroad.com/kwcycling/32/72152_2.png) [@KWcycling](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/u/KWcycling)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/5w-or-1kg-which-is-better/74250/72 "2022-07-14T17:28:49Z")

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The answer to this question is a math problem. @maxim809 solved it correctly. For riders under 5w/kg, gaining 5w and holding kg constant will increase rider w/kg to a greater extent than losing 1kg body weight and holding watts constant. This holds true for any body weight and power level (obviously because we are talking in w/kg).

It is also true that while holding w/kg constant, the athlete with higher absolute power will always climb faster. For example, the 5w/kg rider at 75 kg will always out climb (at any gradient) the 5w/kg rider at 60 kg. See [Climbing and W/Kg](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/climbing-and-w-kg/67681/1)

So the interesting (and better) question is: at what absolute power level is it better to either lose 1 kg or add 5w (holding other metric constant) in order to climb faster?

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