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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter May 11, 2017

The choice of freely preferred cadence by trained nonprofessional cyclists may not be characterized by mechanical efficiency

  • Yitzhak Weinstein EMAIL logo , Ron Mor-Unikowski , Shachar Nice , Shraga Hocherman and Omri Inbar

Abstract

Background:

Most cycling studies involve professional cyclists. Because training may affect riding style, it is of interest to determine the physiological basis for the personal choice of cycling cadence in nonprofessional cyclists.

Methods:

Eleven nonprofessional (5.2±1.7-year-riding experience) male road cyclists, aged 35.0±11.0 years, underwent four separate laboratory test sessions. The first two sessions included habituation, anthropometry, V˙O2max, and lactate threshold (LaTH) measurements. Freely preferred cadence at LaTH was determined during the second session (mean±SD=94.7±2.9 rev·min−1). During the third and fourth sessions participants performed LaTH tests at 60 and 95 rev·min−1 in a randomized order, with power output (PO) increments of 25 W every 4 min, up to ~90% of V˙O2max.

Results:

V˙O2, expired ventilation (V˙E), blood lactate (La), and calculated net mechanical efficiency (MEnet) rose with increased PO. At 95 rev·min−1, V˙O2,V˙E, and La were significantly higher than at 60 rev·min−1 at all POs. MEnet at 95 rev·min−1 was lower than at 60 rev·min−1. Mean PO attained at LaTh did not differ significantly between 60 and 95 rev·min−1 (220.9±29.0 and 214.5±9.2 W, respectively). La values at LaTH were higher at 95 rev·min−1 than at 60 rev·min−1 (3.01±0.17 vs. 2.10±0.13 mM, p<0.05, respectively).

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that mechanical and physiological efficiencies may not determine the choice of cycling cadence by nonprofessional cyclists. This choice may reflect the need to maintain endurance at the expense of riding at a lower than optimal riding efficiency.


Corresponding author: Dr. Yitzhak Weinstein, School of Physical Education, Ohalo Academic College, College Park, Israel; School of Nutrition, Tel-Hai Academic College, Qiryat Shemona, Israel; and Faculty of Medicine, Technion Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, Phone/Fax: +972 77 752 7577

Acknowledgments

Thanks are extended to Eitan Hershkovitz and to Guy Cohen for their technical help, and to Aviva Zeev for the statistical analyses. The authors also thank the participants for their valuable contribution to the study. We dedicate this paper in memory of Dvir Mor-Unikowsky, a devoted elite road and mountain cyclist who passed away during the preparation of this manuscript.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: This research was supported by the Department of Teacher Education, Ministry of Education, and the Ohalo Academic College of Education, College Park 19200, Katzrin, Israel.

  3. Employment or leadership: None declared.

  4. Honorarium: None declared.

  5. Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

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Received: 2016-12-21
Accepted: 2017-3-24
Published Online: 2017-5-11
Published in Print: 2017-7-26

©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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