Ok, first to set up an illustration of what I am trying to get at.
We have four riders, of weights 55, 60, 65 and 70kg. They each have a bike weighing 7kg (around the UCI minimum weight) to give total masses of 62, 67, 72, 77 kilograms. Now we find some hills with constant gradients of 3,6,9,12 and 15% and send them up, each maintaining the same speed. They will therefore be putting out different amounts of power and have different power to weight ratio's.
Sticking some numbers into analytic cycling gives a rough idea of how this works but the results are simple. For a given speed up a given grade a heavier rider needs to put out less watts per kilo to hold the pace. The absolute and percentage differences in the watts/kg decreases as the gradient gets steeper but the fact remains that a 70kg rider who can generate 6.0 watts/kg will always beat a 60kg rider who can generate 6.0 watts/kg (well, at least in the theoretical model).
This is at odds with the general perception which is that lighter riders make better climbers. So, what in essence I am asking is, is it easier for someone with a lower bodyweight to hit higher watts per kilo?
We have four riders, of weights 55, 60, 65 and 70kg. They each have a bike weighing 7kg (around the UCI minimum weight) to give total masses of 62, 67, 72, 77 kilograms. Now we find some hills with constant gradients of 3,6,9,12 and 15% and send them up, each maintaining the same speed. They will therefore be putting out different amounts of power and have different power to weight ratio's.
Sticking some numbers into analytic cycling gives a rough idea of how this works but the results are simple. For a given speed up a given grade a heavier rider needs to put out less watts per kilo to hold the pace. The absolute and percentage differences in the watts/kg decreases as the gradient gets steeper but the fact remains that a 70kg rider who can generate 6.0 watts/kg will always beat a 60kg rider who can generate 6.0 watts/kg (well, at least in the theoretical model).
This is at odds with the general perception which is that lighter riders make better climbers. So, what in essence I am asking is, is it easier for someone with a lower bodyweight to hit higher watts per kilo?