What is the ideal weight for a 5 foot 8 inch cyclist?

Answer 1

There may be some slight differences between male and females (which you didn't specify).

I'm not sure why cyclists would be particularly different from other athletes, although I'm sure each sport has a little variation depending on the muscle groups they utilize the most, and weight is certainly a factor in hill climbing.

According to notes, Lance Armstrong is 5' 9 1/2", and has weighed between 163 (in 1999) and 174 lbs (in 1993).

Most body weight formulas calculate about 5 or 6 lbs per inch.
So, if you are 1.5 inches shorter than Lance Armstrong, then you would be about 9 lbs lighter, or somewhere around 154 to 165 lbs.

There is a link to an ideal body weight calculator in the related links section below.

According to that the people's choice "Ideal Weight" is somewhere around 142 lbs for females, and 156 for males. 151 lbs for the "Devine" formula for males, and 141 lbs using the "Devine" formula for women.

This isn't too far off from what we calculated with the Lance Armstrong example, although at least in his early years, Lance Armstrong was actually a bit heavier than predicted.

Answer 2

Depends on what kind of rider you want to be. Short-distance specialists - sprinters - can be quite chunky, both in road and track riding. DH riders as well. But most (long-distance) road riders will be well below 200 lbs.