Weight/Training advice (any help appreciated)

[Jan the man]

Hi I don't usually post in this sub-forum but I wanted to ask what my ideal weight would be to deal with the hilly courses I ride while not losing power:

Essentially there are 4 significant climbs on my training loop (loop of 45km). In the order I ride them they are 2.5km at 7% (constant gradient), 5.5km at 6% (constant gradient), 1km at 12.5% (150m at 20%) and the final climb is 1.5km at 10% (250m at 15%)

I am 22 and stand 182 cm (5ft11") and am 154lb (11st0lb) I have a pretty steady style (80-85rpm a minute), I have been cycling for 5 years but I don't do it competitively. The problem I have is when I ride in the training group I can keep a steady pace with them and if the pace is gradually incereased (my tactic) on a climb I can match their top end speeds but if someone else is leading and there is a constant change in acceleration I always struggle on the final two climbs regardless of how I feel and am last in my group of 6. My fellow riders are smaller and lighter than me bar 1 who is 160lb, they manage to climb the last climbs better. You may say its endurance but when we do a long TT or a long flat route I am always one of the strongest (and usually quickest on TT)

Any advice? Am I too heavy for my height? Is there a way I can match the smaller guys on the climbs? Why can the bigger guy match the smaller guys even though he can't match my power in TT's?

 

[n2t]

I can't solve your problem, sounds to me honestly like you pace yourself well and when forced to adjust to others pace your body isn't used to it. Almost like jogging or running then having to do surprise wind sprints the muscle memory simply hasn't formed yet. I do have a question though, I'm 5'7 and 150lbs, my god at 5'11 and only 4lbs heavier how skinny do you have to be???? I know of a guy who was 6' and 130lbs for a while but at 29 even he had trouble getting to 147 and this was for only 24 hours at a time....

 

[xxamr_corpxx]

I'm taking a punt here, but when you say you struggle do you feel you run out of breathe?

 

[Jan the man]

I can't solve your problem, sounds to me honestly like you pace yourself well and when forced to adjust to others pace your body isn't used to it. Almost like jogging or running then having to do surprise wind sprints the muscle memory simply hasn't formed yet. I do have a question though, I'm 5'7 and 150lbs, my god at 5'11 and only 4lbs heavier how skinny do you have to be???? I know of a guy who was 6' and 130lbs for a while but at 29 even he had trouble getting to 147 and this was for only 24 hours at a time....

- I have lost a lot of weight but, really I ain't super skinny. Last season I was 170lb but have lost the weight slowly (about 3lb a month since October) through eating healthier (not necessarily less), longer rides, and running. The beer is the one major thing I have cut out. I loved a pint but now I have a half or mostly go for a shot of JD with a diet mixer, that helps keep the pounds off.

xxamr - I always struggle to adjust to their pace if once they accelerate I just can't turn around the pedals fast enough in the gear I'm in and when I change to an easier gear to increase cadence I cannot keep going for long enough my legs burn and so I'm screwed for the last 10km of the ride.

Would you suggest me changing my style to ride at a gear inducive to higher cadence. I tried that before but I couldn't get into a rythm and my legs would always get full of lactic acid quickly so I changed back to my old style.
Any training tips?