I’m just having a debate with someone…if a small person were to race someone larger, of the same power to weight ratio, would there be a difference in speed?

Assuming equal w/kg they should climb the same pace, but the bigger rider will be throwing off more heat and burning more kj’s so on sustained climbs should bonk faster. Bigger rider should descend and hit the flats faster (assuming everything else is equal). Really depends on the course, rolling s…

I think if it’s a shallow slope and/or both riders are capable of keeping up a good speed while climbing, then the aerodynamics will still play a part in the equation.

Here you go… cipher to your hearts content: https://analyticcycling.com/QCHome_Page.html

I’m not sure how to search past podcasts but they talk about it one. If w/kg are the same the lighter person will move up the hill a little faster. Maybe due to gravitational pull? Not really sure how it happens and the science behind. Just remembered hearing so maybe you can go searching for more i…

[image] JoeX: two riders outputting the same w/kg for the same time up the same slope will climb the slope (or traverse the curvature of spacetime) at the same speed. I think that will be highly dependent on where they are on their respective power curves during this hypothetical effort. Two…

[image] Nope0337: I’m not sure how to search past podcasts but they talk about it one. FAQ: How to Search for Ask A Cycling Coach Podcasts

I’m not really that interested in this, was just offering for someone else to do it if they wanted more information. But @batwood14 here you go! :blush:

[image] Nope0337: Maybe due to gravitational pull? Not really sure how it happens and the science behind. Just remembered hearing so maybe you can go searching for more information :woman_shrugging:t3: This. When on a flat surface, the gravitational force is perpendicular to the ground–so th…

Sorry, but you’re wrong. For equal W/kg you’ll have equal velocity wrt the road (and vertical velocity as well). Edit: To add some math. Power to ascend is equivalent to mgs*v (where m is mass, g is gravitational constant, s is slope, v is velocity relative to road). s is actually sin(arctan(s)) bu…

Ever get stuck behind a semi truck on a hill, chugging up at 35mph? And the same truck does 70mph on flat roads? Gravity. Even better analogy, say you have a pickup truck hauling a horse trailer. That truck can easily do 70mph on a flat road, with or without the horse trailer. But take that truck u…

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Power to weight ratio debate

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mcneese.chad March 4, 2019, 9:33pm 30

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