The Effect of Handlebar Height and Bicycle Frame Length on Muscular Activity during Cycling: A Pilot Study

Ana Conceição, Vítor Milheiro, José A. Parraca, Fernando Rocha, Mário C. Espada, Fernando J. Santos and Hugo Louro
Additional contact information
Ana Conceição: Department of Sport Sciences, Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal
Vítor Milheiro: Department of Sport Sciences, Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal
José A. Parraca: Departamento de Desporto e Saúde, Escola de Saúde e Desenvolvimento Humano, Universidade de Évora, 7000-654 Évora, Portugal
Fernando Rocha: Department of Sport Sciences, Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal
Mário C. Espada: Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, School of Education, 2914-504 Setúbal, Portugal
Fernando J. Santos: Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, School of Education, 2914-504 Setúbal, Portugal
Hugo Louro: Department of Sport Sciences, Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: The cycling literature is filled with reports of electromyography (EMG) analyses for a better understanding of muscle function during cycling. This research is not just limited to performance, as the cyclist’s goal may be rehabilitation, recreation, or competition, so a bicycle that meets the rider’s needs is essential for a more efficient muscular activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the contribution of the activity of each of the following muscles: TD (trapezius descending), LD (latissimus dorsi), GM (gluteus maximus), and AD (anterior deltoid) in response to different bicycle-rider systems (handlebar height; bicycle frame length) and intensities in a bicycle equipped with a potentiometer. Surface EMG signals from muscles on the right side of the body were measured. A general linear model test was used to analyze the differences between muscle activation in the test conditions. Effect sizes were calculated using a partial Eta2 ( η 2 ). The level of significance was set at 0.05. Muscle activation of different muscles differs, depending on the cycling condition (Pillai’s trace = 2.487; F (36.69) = 9.300; p < 0.001. η 2 = 0.958), mostly during low intensities. In high intensities, one specific pattern emerges, with a greater contribution of GM and TD and weaker participation of LD and AD, enhancing the cycling power output.

Keywords: cycling; electromyography; handlebar height; bicycle frame (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6590/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6590/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6590-:d:826557

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().