Evaluation of different bicycle ergonomic positions on muscles activity and cyclist performance before and after a fatigue protocol

Bicycling is an activity for increasing the physical fitness of people. Cardiac and rehabilitation specialists prescribing this activity as an alternative treatment method. Many researches were done in the fields of biomechanics and ergonomics of cycling to reach the goals including improve techniques, reduce energy expenditure, and also reduce injury risk. The aim of this study was to compare the electrical activity of erector spinae, gluteus maximus, and rectus femoris muscles and also the cyclist performance in six different bicycle ergonomic positions before and after performing a fatigue protocol.

Six professional female cyclist participated in this study. They have some experiences in national and Asian competitions. Six different ergonomic settings were considered consist of two handlebars and three saddle height settings. Electrical activity of three selected muscles and also the pedaling angular velocity were recorded before and after performing a fatigue protocol on a cycle ergometer.

The effect of fatigue on electrical activity of muscles were differed significantly in different bicycle ergonomic positions. Besides, the angular velocity of pedaling or cyclist performance showed significant difference in these six ergonomic positions.

Ergonomic settings of bicycle including handlebars and saddle settings are important for reducing the muscles fatigue and increasing the cyclist performance. According to the results of this research, the position for the best performance is setting the saddle height upper the reference point, that is equal to lower extremities length, and setting the handlebars parallel to the ground.