Does pedalling on a recumbent bicycle influence the cyclist’s steering behaviour?

The paper presents the answer to the question how pedalling on a specific recumbent bicycle, such as the VeloX3, influences a cyclist’s ability to steer the bicycle. The research aims to find the correlation between pedalling and the undesired steering movements it creates. To test this assumption a test setup was constructed. On this setup cyclists were asked to perform in a high intensity Wingate test. A load-cell was used to measure the amount of force exerted by the cyclist on the handlebar while cycling. An ergometer integrated in the setup was used to measure power output and cadence of the cyclist. When comparing the cadence results with the oscillation of the measured forces on the load-cell, a distinct coherence was noticed. The forces measured have magnitudes reaching up to 400N. The combination of the oscillations due to pedalling and the magnitude of the forces will result in disturbances of the steering behaviour on a recumbent bicycle.Design EngineeringIndustrial Design Engineerin