Cycling has a weight problem: a call for the industry to be more transparent about its weight limits

www.cyclingweekly.com Cycling has a weight problem: a call for the industry to be more transparent about its weight limits

Cycling products’ weight limits are typically hidden deep within owner’s manuals or not listed at all. This is a problem.

Weight limits for bicycles need to be higher and more transparent, especially if the majority of people want to use them.

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With 74% of adults in the United States classified as being bigger-bodied individuals by the CDC
I’m sure that’s the CDCs preferred term.
- I know everyone likes to be mean, but let's be creative here: It's not just the stereotypical fat American. Look at our athletes and body builders, a lot of people who could possibly be in these terms are healthy by all metrics; some Americans are just taller and more muscular.
  I'm not downplaying the obesity epidemic, but I feel like a more generic term is appropriate here.
  
  It’s rare for bodybuilders to push over 300lbs in weight, even supplemented. When talking about body mass, sure BMI is just an indicator and not a diagnostic measure.
  Of the 74% mentioned in the article, a small percentage of that would be the athletes and other genetic outliers.
  
  Skewed anecdote:
  There's a decent portion of the US military who I've seen fail height/weight standards from powerlifting themselves into being too muscley.
  If your weight is too high compared to your height (BMI), they flag you. Then they wrap a tape measure around your neck, and your waist, and if your core is too thick comparatively, you get forced to cut weight. I've seen soldiers fight back, and successfully convince their command team to waive their "weight problem" by going out of their way to get BodPodded and proving they are as low as 12% body fat.
  I don't know how much of an outlier the military population is statistically compared to the general US population, but by CDC standards these individuals count as "overweight" despite being incredibly in shape. I have zero faith and trust in the CDC's use of BMI to generalize a population's health level.
  
  I would guess the military is a large outlier compared to the general population considering all of the physical training soldiers are required to do. People don't just accidentally gain a bunch of muscle, it takes a lot of hard work.
  
  As stated, BMI is an indicator and not a diagnostic.

110 comments