[Closed] Do heavier bikes make you fitter?

been thinking about this a lot recently? we've been talking about it in the shop, as we all ride road bikes and xc trail bikes now...

I don't think I was ever fitter, than when I was heavily into freeride and riding 40lb long-travel bikes.

I would not push up the hills, I would ride up the hills. I would commute on them. I would ride them everywhere. I built up serious muscle bulk, aerobic fitness and strength.

I went to Glentress for MBUK's "Slopestyle Competition" and rode from my B&B in Peebles to the very top of the bike park on a Banshee Scream in Glentress carrying a full-face helmet, body armour and food / drink supplies, without breaking a sweat. And then spent 8 hours competing at the event.

look at this photo:

[img] [/img]

since stopping freeride? my XC trail bike weighs 24lbs, my road bike considerably lighter. Both are much easier to pedal and ride. Has my fitness decreased due to the lighter bikes? probably...

I am still having fun riding, and that it all that really matters to me 🙂

All things equal,I think weight makes a difference ,but all I really care about ,is that first ride on my summer bike after a winter on the CX,brilliant 😀

When I swap to my heavy bike I just get slower 🙁

Has my fitness decreased due to the lighter bikes? probably..

You probably don't ride as much, you probably don't even train for anything.

@davidtaylforth

I am actually riding more than ever, because I don't work 6 days a week or commute long distances anymore

I never "trained" when I rode FR bikes, I just rode them to where I needed to get to (usually to a train station, and then taking a train, and riding from that station to the venue)

these days? I even run several days a week, do weight training and ride road and mountain bikes every other day. I am certainly doing more mileage.

whatever this has to do with heavier / lighter bikes I don't really know; I apologize I am not a professional trainer? My current bikes are certainly much easier to pedal than my FR bikes.

I'd guess you;re probably fitter than you were then!

Fitness doesn't decrease becasue you ride a lighter bike.

I ride my bikes for more because they're lighter and more fun to ride. And I ride them further because they're easy to ride.

My commuter's intentionally hard work though, because my commute's fixed length and I only do it for the little extra fitness. If I made it lighter/faster, it'd either make my commute shorter or easier and either is a bit pointless.

Wouldn't lugging a heavier bike give you more power ie build muscle power, but you are more likely to run out of steam sooner?

Some would argue that an Orange 5 is too big a bike etc etc for the Yorkshire Dales

IMO it pretty much boils down to whether you could be bothered to ride the heavy/slack bike the same way you would the lighter and more appropriate XC machine. Most people for casual rideouts and not training, wouldnt bother. I would see myself convincing my buddies to ride the local uplift stuff or pushup venues! Strength might increase in different places, but I doubt fitness would.

Its like the argument of better MPG cars saving you money. We now have a car doing 15mog more than our old car. We dont save money. We drive it more!

If all other things are equal then i think a heavier bike wil make you fitter as you are working harder both aerobically and physically which can only result in you being fitter.

[quoteso imho heavier bikes will not make you fitter but will inrease your muscle mass......

Isn't that one in the same thing?

 

Wouldn't lugging a heavier bike give you more power ie build muscle power, but you are more likely to run out of steam sooner?

Only if you ride it at the same speed as the lighter one. Otherwise you just go slower.

Really, this took two pages.

Riding for a fixed time and speed the heavier bike will make you fitter. But only up to a point unless the speed is regularly moved up.

Riding based on power output there will be no difference, 200watts is 200watts, 300watts is 300watts. You'll just go further/faster on the light bike.

This is why training training gains are vastly improved when using power meters. And it doesn't matter what bike you use, fitness is based on how hard you're prepared to work.

Its hard to gauge. On one hand, riding a heavier bike will mean you burn more energy getting from A to B, but you do so slower.
On the other hand, having a faster bike means you wont get dropped from your group, and so can hang in a push yourself further, and be competitive at the end when the hammer goes down.

I used to ride a plain gauge steel road bike on my commute as it was cheap and easy to maintain. It was heavy as heck though and I always wondered the same thing.

I occasionally lug heavy things like cans of paint in my panniers and always go home the hilly route to get the extra benefit. No idea if it helps at all but it makes me feel like a champ 😆

From some posts on this thread it seems you can go to the gym and lift little weights, and get the same effect as the guys who lift the big ones. Turn down the incline on the treadmill, the resistance on the spin bike, makes no difference.

Seriously, to all the carbon loving weight weenies, no-one's saying that your light bikes mean you're not fit, we all acknowledge that the typical XC bike rider is built like a bunch of twiglets wrapped in sausage skin.

Phil w in the main agree with you but if you are riding a heavier bike willl you not develop an increase in watts?

PS love the banshee scream pic and to some extent this is my nephews view on the world

A guy who i ride with has a similar theory for eating during a ride. He thinks if he trains his body to ride without using energy gels/drinks etc that when he starts to use them at races/challenges etc he'll get more benefit. Dont talk to him much cos he's always miles behind!!!

Well, I sure as heck notice the difference between my 34lb Wolf Ridge and my 27lb Camber, that's for sure. Riding the Wolf Ridge has helped my stamina no end.

That said, I've lost a few pounds of late which makes for the most noticeable difference of all.

In answer to the OP - yes

HTH 😉

in answer to the OP - no

I ride a lightweight rigid steel singlespeed, and a 1x9 heavy utility bike with racks and a trailer attached, usually with two boys and a bike in the trailer..

The singlespeed gets me much fitter, so I would say ride a light bike or a heavy bike - just change gear less

Do you see pics of Brad Wiggin et all training on Rayleigh Grifters?

Nop... they are on thier race bikes using power meters.

klumpy - Member
Seriously, to all the carbon loving weight weenies, no-one's saying that your light bikes mean you're not fit, we all acknowledge that the typical XC bike rider is built like a bunch of twiglets wrapped in sausage skin.

😆

Singlespeed vs heavy bike is a slghtly different proposition though - I commute daily on a SS, but ride a heavy AM bike round the woods. I guess they give you different things regarding fitness/training?

Phil w in the main agree with you but if you are riding a heavier bike willl you not develop an increase in watts?

You gain an increase in watts by pushing your limits. You can do this on a light bike or heavy bike. You'll just be going slower on the heavy bike.

Putting out your max effort on a heavy bike is of no training advantage over putting out a max effort on a light bike.

From some posts on this thread it seems you can go to the gym and lift little weights, and get the same effect as the guys who lift the big ones.

You're analogy only works if by riding a lighter bike the rider is not working as hard. If you work to the same intensity you'll get the same results. You just have to go faster to do so on the light bike.

Turn down the incline on the treadmill, the resistance on the spin bike, makes no difference.

Putting out your max effort on a heavy bike is of no training advantage over putting out a max effort on a light bike.

Hard to say as I lost a LOT of weight in 2-3 months riding my 37lbs Bullit everywhere in the Whistler area. But I think my fitness has improved a lot with a light road bike as you're more inclined to ride it further/for longer as it feels the bike isn't holding you back at all..

NRAP but on the basis that training is done (by the pros at least) on lighter bikes, (road bike, xc mtb), I would say riding a heavier-bike doesn't make you fitter.

All things (speed, distance, cadence) being equal, a heavier bike will make you fitter.

But that's an unlikely scenario.

You gain an increase in watts by pushing your limits. You can do this on a light bike or heavy bike. You'll just be going slower on the heavy bike.

Putting out your max effort on a heavy bike is of no training advantage over putting out a max effort on a light bike.

Yep- that's the thread closer, I'm convinced.
If you had said this at the top of page 1 we could all have saved our eyes the effort of all that heavy reading. 😆

Putting out your max effort on a heavy bike is of no training advantage over putting out a max effort on a light bike.

But maybe you're more likely to put out max effort on a heavier bike than a lighter one, especially if riding in a group with people with lighter bikes.

I found the opposite. My heavy bike feels slow however hard I try so I can't be bothered to n push myself when riding it.