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A Pilot Study Determining Optimal Protruding Node Length of Bicycle Seats Using Subjective Ratings

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Abstract

This study preliminarily investigated the subjective discomfort and riding stability by requiring ten participants to ride straight-handles bicycles equipped with five seat-protruding node lengths (PNLs, 0–12 cm, in increments of 3 cm) of seats for 20 min. Results indicated that seat PNL caused differences in the participants’ subjective discomfort and stability scores. The various PNLs had significantly positive (r = 0.910, p < 0.01) and negative (r = −0.904, p < 0.05) correlations to the subjective discomfort rating for the perineum and ischial tuberosity, respectively. However, various PNLs did not affect riding stability during cycling. The findings of this study suggest that a 6 cm PNL is the optimal reference for bicycle seat designs.

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Correspondence to Yi-Lang Chen .

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Chen, YL., Liu, YN., Cheng, CF. (2013). A Pilot Study Determining Optimal Protruding Node Length of Bicycle Seats Using Subjective Ratings. In: Lin, YK., Tsao, YC., Lin, SW. (eds) Proceedings of the Institute of Industrial Engineers Asian Conference 2013. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-98-7_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-98-7_33

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-4451-97-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-4451-98-7

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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