Effect of Seat Height on Aerobic and Anaerobic Power in Trained Male Cyclists

Early season cyclists tend to use a lower seat height; by mid racing season they will raise their seat to a slightly higher position. Reasons could be poor flexibility during early season training, or improved efficiency towards the latter part of the season. Competitive cyclists are always looking for the optimal seat height, which will give them the greatest power output by expending the least amount of energy. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of various seat heights on oxygen consumption during submaximal exercise and anaerobic power at or near maximal exercise. Four trained competitive male cyclists were tested at five different seat heights; 95%, 97%, 100%, 103%, and 106% of leg length. For the aerobic protocol, subjects started at SOW and the workload was increased 25W every three minutes to a maximum of 200W. Ventilation, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and heart rate were obtained at regular intervals. For the anaerobic protocol, a Wingate test was performed with indices of power and anaerobic capacity overall. It is speculated that significant mean differences exist in measures among seat heights for the group. These results will show that an optimal seat height exists for maximizing anaerobic and aerobic performance in trained cyclists, and these heights may be independent of one another