Measurement system of 3D pedaling forces and the applying position on a pedal

Abstract

In cycling motion, pedaling forces are important to evaluate pedaling performance. Especially, improvement of pedaling efficiency requires the three dimensional forces and the transition of the contact position on a pedal in detail. For this, we developed a novel pedaling sensor system. The crank is the detector of the sensor to measure three dimensional forces between the pedal and the cleat. Also, the sensor can obtain the contact position just on a pedal shaft using multiple strain gages. As a result of the calibration, the sensor had enough linearity for static loads. Moreover, a motion analysis for five subjects showed that the pedaling forces and the contact position changed along the crank rotation. Therefore, our sensor system can show mechanical pedaling condition in detail, and it should be useful for cycling motion analysis.