TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of body size on oxygen consumption during bicycling
AU - Swain, D. P.
AU - Coast, J. R.
AU - Clifford, P. S.
AU - Milliken, M. C.
AU - Stray-Gundersen, J.
PY - 1987/6/30
Y1 - 1987/6/30
N2 - Energy in bicycling is primarily expended to overcome air resistance, which is proportional to a cyclist's surface area (SA). Thus we hypothesized that large cyclists should have a lower O2 consumption normalized to body weight (V̇O2/BW) than small cyclists because of the former's lower SA/BW. We measured the V̇O2/BW of small (BW = 59.4 ± 4.1 kg) and large (BW = 84.4 ± 3.2 kg) cyclists while they bicycled on a flat road at 10, 15, and 20 mph. The large cyclists had a 22% lower V̇O2/BW than the small cyclists at all speeds. However, the SA/BW ratio of the large cyclists was only 11% lower than that of the small cyclists. We then photographically determined the frontal area (FA) of the cyclists in a racing posture, and found that the large cyclists had a 16% lower FA/BW ratio than the small cyclists. We conclude that 1) large cyclists are at a distinct advantage, in terms of V̇O2/BW, while bicycling on level roads, and 2) this advantage is principally due to their lower FA/BW ratio.
AB - Energy in bicycling is primarily expended to overcome air resistance, which is proportional to a cyclist's surface area (SA). Thus we hypothesized that large cyclists should have a lower O2 consumption normalized to body weight (V̇O2/BW) than small cyclists because of the former's lower SA/BW. We measured the V̇O2/BW of small (BW = 59.4 ± 4.1 kg) and large (BW = 84.4 ± 3.2 kg) cyclists while they bicycled on a flat road at 10, 15, and 20 mph. The large cyclists had a 22% lower V̇O2/BW than the small cyclists at all speeds. However, the SA/BW ratio of the large cyclists was only 11% lower than that of the small cyclists. We then photographically determined the frontal area (FA) of the cyclists in a racing posture, and found that the large cyclists had a 16% lower FA/BW ratio than the small cyclists. We conclude that 1) large cyclists are at a distinct advantage, in terms of V̇O2/BW, while bicycling on level roads, and 2) this advantage is principally due to their lower FA/BW ratio.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 3558226
AN - SCOPUS:0023198791
SN - 8750-7587
VL - 62
SP - 668
EP - 672
JO - Journal of Applied Physiology Respiratory Environmental and Exercise Physiology
JF - Journal of Applied Physiology Respiratory Environmental and Exercise Physiology
IS - 2
ER -