Watts per kilogram is a common ratio in cycling to measure your power in watts on the bike with your body weight in kilograms and is abbreviated as W/kg. Generally, a larger cyclist can put out more power than smaller ones, but that's not the only factor that affects cycling performance. Especially when climbing up long steep inclines.

A cyclist's weight influences how effective their power output is as lighter cyclists require less effort when climbing up a hill. This is why a cyclist's power-to-weight ratio is a more effective and reasonable way to compare different riders' abilities than looking at just their power output.

Watts per kilogram is valuable when the gradient becomes steep. However, on a flat or rolling terrain, raw power and aerodynamics play a larger role. At higher speed levels, almost 90% of your power is used to overcome wind resistance. That being said watts per kilogram influence your climbing ability and is a good metric of general cycling fitness.

Watts are a measurement of power and are used to gauge how much work you're doing while cycling. It's equal to your torque multiplied by your cadence. The amount of force you generate equals torque, and the speed at which you turn the pedals equals cadence.

Watts is a reliable metric for comparing performance regardless of outside influences like the wind. A Watt is a measurement of energy transfer measured in real-time while cycling. This is done with a power meter and is commonly used when referring to your sustainable power and functional threshold power or FTP.

Kilograms are the standard unit of measure when determining cycling power output. The calculator can convert your weight from pounds to kilograms if you prefer.