The effect of bicycle seat-tube angle on lower extremity
Keywords:
EMG, saddle positions, cycling, bike fittingAbstract
Purpose: This study recruited bicycle enthusiasts and investigated lower extremity muscle activation at various seat-tube angles. Methods: Twenty healthy participants (10 males and 10 females) with right dominant leg were recruited for this study. We recorded the rectus femoris, hamstring, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius medialis in five different seat-tube angles conditions at 59, 69, 79, 89, 99 degrees. One-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to analyze all the data. The level of significance was set at = .05. Results: A large bicycle seat-tube angle reduced the muscle activation of the rectus femoris, hamstring and gastrocnemius during the downstroke phase. However, when the seat-tube angle was increased to 99°, the muscle activation of the rectus femoris and hamstring increased. In addition, the activation of tibialis anterior muscle decreased as the seat-tube angle increased. Conclusions: Lower extremity function can be changed by adjusting the seat-tube angle. At seat-tube angles of less than 90°, a larger seat-tube angle can enhancing pedaling efficiency. For lower extremity, a seat-tube angle greater than 90° can be used for rehabilitation and training.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2015 Journal of Science and Cycling

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to Journal of Science and Cycling agree to publish their articles under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND license, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that you indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to Cycling Research Center.