Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the physiological and psychological responses of cyclists riding on a hard tail bicycle and on a full suspension bicycle. Twenty males participated in two series of tests. A test rig held the front axle of the bicycle
steady while the rear wheel rotated against a heavy roller with bumps (or no bumps) on its surface. In the first series of tests, eight participants (age 19 – 27 years, body mass 65 – 82 kg) were tested on both the full suspension and hard tail bicycles with
and without bumps fitted to the roller. The second series of test repeated the bump tests with a further six participants (age 22 – 31 years, body mass 74 – 94 kg) and also involved an investigation of familiarization effects with the final six participants
(age 21 – 30 years, body mass 64 – 80 kg). Heart rate, oxygen consumption ( _V O2), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and comfort were recorded during 10 min sub-maximal tests. Combined data for the bumps tests show that the full suspension
bicycle was significantly different (P50.001) from the hard tail bicycle on all four measures. Oxygen consumption, heart rate and RPE were lower on average by 8.7 (s¼3.6) ml kg71 min71, 32.1 (s¼12.1) beats min71 and 2.6 (s¼2.0) units,
respectively. Comfort scores were higher (better) on average by 1.9 (s¼0.8) units. For the no bumps tests, the only statistically significant difference (P¼0.008) was in _V O2, which was lower for the hard tail bicycle by 2.2 (s¼1.7) ml kg71 min71. The results indicate that the full suspension bicycle provides a physiological and psychological advantage over the hard tail bicycle during simulated sub-maximal exercise on bumps. Verf.-Referat