By Colin J

The ideal cycling weight for what?

The word ‘Ideal’ implies that there is one perfect weight for a given cyclist but this is not true. The answer to the question posed in the article title depends on what the aims and lifestyle of that cyclist are. The needs of a professional athlete are very different to those of the cycle tourist or someone who just uses a bicycle for transport. Having said that, there is a truth understood by anybody who has ever toiled up a steep hill on a bicycle – fat is hard work when the road rears up!

Cycling for health

If you only cycle to keep fit and well and are not interested in performance, then you don’t need to concern yourself with your weight, beyond keeping it within a healthy range. Some people refer to Body Mass Index (BMI) for this, but I don’t like it because it doesn’t take into account how muscular your body is. Muscle is good, excessive fat is bad but BMI ignores the difference.

My advice would be to use your cycling to help get your weight down to the point where you don’t have a roll of fat round your waist, or at most just a small one. Don’t go so far as to have all your ribs sticking out. If you achieve this then you will be maximising the health benefits of your time on the bike.

Cycling for fitness

If you are trying to maximise your cycling performance, you should pay close attention to your weight. Any excess fat is a burden to carry uphill. You will go downhill faster than your skinny buddies, but that will never make up for the time lost climbing. The steeper the hills, the worse it gets.

Upper body muscular bulk will not help your cycling either. Lance Armstrong came from a triathlon background and his swimmer’s upper body muscle was a handicap on the bike. It was only when he reduced the size of his upper body that his road cycling performance improved. If he’d still been a triathlete, his swimming would have suffered when he did that. This is why I say that the ideal cycling weight depends on what type of cycling you do, and what your goals are.

The specialist climber

If you look at the ‘mountain goats’ of the pro peloton, you will soon notice that they tend to be incredibly skinny. The truth is that they constantly battle to keep their weights down to that level and some have eating disorders. That isn’t a healthy thing to do, but it is an individual choice to make. If you consider yourself to be a climber, just be very careful not to overdo your weight loss – winning a bike race isn’t worth dying for and Anorexia Nervosa isn’t something to play about with.

What is my ideal cycling weight?

I have a lot of experience of cycling in the Pennine hills of northern England. I have done it fat and I have done it skinny and I can tell you straight that cycling round here is easier when skinny! I overdid it a few years back and got too thin. I looked gaunt, I kept getting ill and I didn’t have the stamina that I have now. I could climb the first few hills quickly, but then I’d get exhausted and perhaps come down with a cold a few days later.

Over the years, I piled a lot of weight on. Sure, I stopped getting ill but I got to an unhealthy size and felt really unfit.

I’m 6′1″ tall and a medium build. For me, as a cyclist who enjoys riding in the hills and mountains, below 168 pounds is too light, above 182 pounds is too heavy so I’m aiming for about 175 pounds. You should be able to work out a range of weights like that for yourself. Aim to lose weight until you are slimmer and fitter. If you overdo it, put a couple of pounds back on and maintain that weight from then on.

You can follow my efforts to improve as a cyclist by losing 46 pounds of ugly fat on my blog at SlimmerAndFitter.com.

I have my successes and I have my failures but I am steadily getting there and I tell you how. If you are overweight and it is holding back your cycling, now is the time to start doing something about it. Remember – what one fat person can achieve, so can another! Why not you?

I’m no nutrition expert, but I’ve found a guy who is… Read my review of his acclaimed book and take an important step towards finally reaching your ideal cycling weight!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colin_J
http://EzineArticles.com/?What-is-My-Ideal-Cycling-Weight?&id=2193486

The Bike Frame

Getting A Correct Bike Frame

There are a lot of things to factor in for a successful bike ride, whether it’s something you do every day or only once. The bike has many different parts to it, but your bike frame is the most important part. Although the geometry of the bike frame may get changed by the frame manufacturers when they want a different look, there are still some measurements that can’t be changed or messed with. If you’re new to cycling, you’re not really going to care all that much about fancy frames. However, if you’re an old pro at cycling and have been doing it for years, you may have an interest in the different styles of frames. Just recently I was contacted by a reader asking why bicycle articles never go into detail about frames. So, I thought I’d spend a little time discussing frames.

The Difference in Frames

There are more differences to bike frames than just the color. Although most of us make a selection based on color, there are many other variations that can be found in bicycle frames. For instance, the Orbea Orca frame and the Trek Madone frame have many differences between them. Some of the differences we tend to forget about are the overall frame geometry, tube lengths, frame angles, etc. The reason these items are seldom listed or discussed is because when it comes right down to it, when you get your bike frame, you’re going to have to be the one looking at it for a long time so you better like the color and design.

Basic Geometry of the Bike Frame

The basic geometry of the bike frame consists of the size of the chain stays, the distance between the bottom bracket axle and the back wheel axle, and the distance between the front wheel and the bottom bracket. These areas are the same for all bikes and are the basics of how they’re made and cannot be changed or the handling of the bike will be affected.

Another Important Dimension

The seat tube length is designed to fit the rider and can be adjusted by using a long seat pin to adjust the height of the saddle. The angle of the seat will be dependent on the frame size or, at least this is the case with factory made frames. The smaller the bike frame, the steeper the seat tube will angle. This may need to be adjusted for taller or shorter riders, however. The more relaxed the angle is, the more comfortable of a rider there is going to be.

Read full articles about bicycle geometry and bicycles available at this web.