Award Date

12-1-2013

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences

First Committee Member

John Mercer

Second Committee Member

Dick Tandy

Third Committee Member

James Navalta

Fourth Committee Member

Tim Bungum

Fifth Committee Member

Kathryn H. Korgan

Number of Pages

52

Abstract

Body position can be of great importance to athletes who want to maximize their performance on the bike. Aerodynamic resistance can account for 70-90% of resistance encountered by cyclists, and a strategy used to reduce this resistance is riding in the aero position Research has been done in the lab to determine if there are trade-offs to using this position (Jobson et al. 2008, Welbergen and Clijsen 1990, Hubenig, Game and Kennedy 2011, Peveler 2004, Origenes et al. 1993, Ryschon and Stray-Gunderson 1991, Gnehm et al. 1997, Ashe et al. 2003). . Researchers have reported that riders untrained in the aero position will have a lower power output in this position, and that riders will be stronger in the position they train in. Researchers have also reported that there are difference between riding in the lab and riding outdoors (Richardson & Johnson 2004, Bertucci et al 2007, Bertucci et al 2012).. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to conduct a field test, testing the power output between the two positions. Seven riders with experience riding in both positions were recruited and completed 2 x one-mile time trials. Cycling power, heart rate, and speed were measured using a power meter (CycleOps, Madison, USA). Each dependent variable was compared between positions using a paired t-test. Power (upright 291.7 ± 77.4 Watts (W), aero 274.4 ± 91.1W), heart rate (upright 170.0 ± 19.6 beats per minute (bpm), aero 177.0 ± 32.0 bpm) , speed (upright 26.1 ± 2.9 miles per hour (mph), aero 26.9 ± 3.1 mph) and cadence (upright 96.9 ± 9.6 revolutions per minute (rpm), aero 98.3 ± 7.5 rpm) were not different (p>0.05) between positions. Although the group response was not different for power output and speed between positions, 5 of 7 participants had at least 20 W more power output during upright versus aero position. It seems these subjects were able to achieve the same speed using less power during aero vs. upright position. Nevertheless, for a 1-mile time trial effort, the influence of position on power was not dramatic and for the group, position did not influence power.

Keywords

Cycling; Cycling field test; Cycling position; Cycling power output; Cyclists

Disciplines

Biomechanics | Kinesiology | Sports Studies

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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