Rider weight?

[Woodman]

Just readin comments on the wall of coolness thread and didn't wanna stry off topic bla bla bla, but somethin i have been wonderin about for a while is.

Is a heavy rider better for a heavy bike or is a lighter rider better?

need to lose a bit of weight and need either a reason to lose or an excuse not too.

[Gubb]

The less weight the better, but on a heavier bike, you'll need the muscle to move it around.

[JATZ]

Just readin comments on the wall of coolness thread and didn't wanna stry off topic bla bla bla, but somethin i have been wonderin about for a while is.

Is a heavy rider better for a heavy bike or is a lighter rider better?

need to lose a bit of weight and need either a reason to lose or an excuse not too.

I stuck a pic of Gaston R with his DRbig in the "mygsxf goes offroad"thread.
Little guy HUGE bike
I've also seen some video ( @ nordie's) of an overweight middle aged German ? doing some great riding (trials like)
Horses for courses

[Paladin]

The less weight the better, but on a heavier bike, you'll need the muscle to move it around.

And muscle is heavier than fat which means you're gonna be heavier! DOH!

[Rodney007]

less weight the better, regardless of the bike IMO

[NordieBoy]

I stuck a pic of Gaston R with his DRbig in the "mygsxf goes offroad"thread.
Little guy HUGE bike
I've also seen some video ( @ nordie's) of an overweight middle aged German ? doing some great riding (trials like)
Horses for courses

Erich Brandauer. Multiple trials champ and all around big guy

[warewolf]

Is a heavy rider better for a heavy bike or is a lighter rider better?

need to lose a bit of weight and need either a reason to lose or an excuse not too.

Hard to say, but two things come to mind... the bleedin' obvious ones:

1. less weight always improves your power-to-weight, on every bike you ride. A $1000 Jenny Craig program is always a better spend than a loud exhaust for one bike.
2. think fitness rather than weight: strength & endurance are key for vigorous riding.

So don't think lose weight, think gain power. Positive thinking and all that.

For road riding, shorter lighter riders have to lean more, because they have less mass and it is lower down. A big mass high up is better for cornering.

[slofox]

Rule of Thumb:

Never buy a bike you can't pick up when you (inevitably) drop it...nothing worse than having to flag down a car and bleat "Can you help me pick up me bike pleeeease? It's too fuckin' heavy for me on me own...."

[dino3310]

like Jatz sed Horses for courses.
no matter wat size, you set the bike up to suit the rider.
rossi
stoner
Gaston R
carmicheal
all little fellas.
Iain on his 990 impresses me cause he's a little bloke on a big donkey.
and then theres mark on his DR400 bigger bloke and one of the fastest you'll see on the metal.
i know my confidence grows when i'm on a smaller bike,
i think it comes down to bike set up and rider SKILL.
i'm still lacking in booth, but i love it anyways

[bart]

Buy a Husaberg. Even fat people do amazing things on those.

[Daffyd]

I read somewhere you shouldn't ride a bike that weighs more than 3 times your own weight.

Any heavier than that and you can't pick it up.

[bart]

I read somewhere you shouldn't ride a bike that weighs more than 3 times your own weight.

Any heavier than that and you can't pick it up.

Working backwards on that theory, I struggled to pick up Tonyw's bike last weekend, which weighs bugger all, so I must weigh 45.7kg.

Cool.

Shame he was still attached to the bike when I was lifting it off him.

[warewolf]

I read somewhere you shouldn't ride a bike that weighs more than 3 times your own weight.

Any heavier than that and you can't pick it up.

Doesn't really apply to dirt/adventure bikes as they are not that heavy and if conditions are tricky enough for you to drop the bike, then picking it up will be harder, too. Maybe 2x would work but even then it's not quite realistic. Road bikes doesn't matter, it's all technique. There's some instructions online somewhere showing a 100lb woman demonstrating how to pick up a LeadWing.

[CookMySock]

Lose the weight! It will improve almost everything.

Steve

[YellowDog]

If you are overweight, then all you are doing is making your bike heavier.

A heavy bike needs you to have strength and not weight.

Fat = Negative weight.
Muscle = Positive weight.