The metabolic efficiency of an athlete riding a bicycle is found through the amount of oxygen required to do work. The amount of oxygen uptake is proportional to work intensity. This counterbalanced study looks at the metabolic efficiency of riding in the ‘road’ position compared to riding in the ‘time trial’ (‘TT’) position, taking into account changes in hip angle and frontal surface area. The subject pool consisted of 9 athletes, 7 male and 2 female between the ages of 22 and 64 years. The subjects performed a 20 minute test at a constant power output of 2.5 Watts per kg of body weight. The athletes alternated through the ‘road’ and ‘TT’ positions, in increments of 5 minutes, during which time metabolic measurements were recorded. The results showed that there was no significant difference in oxygen uptake between the two positions. Through this research it was found that athletes riding in the aerodynamic position are metabolically able to produce the same amount of power as the road position without a significant increase in oxygen uptake, which results in a significant increase in speed.

Comparing the efficiency of riding a bicycle in a ‘road’ position versus a ‘time trial’ position