Body orientation and positioning can affect force production and contribution to the pedals in cycling. Sitting upright allows leg weight to contribute to force on the pedals during the power stroke. Reclining positions require overcoming lower limb weight when pedaling, resulting in less force. Inverted seating is more effective for pulling during recovery than pushing against gravity during the power stroke. Recumbent bicycles are less effective than upright for hill climbing as pedaling upwards works against lower limb weight during the power stroke, requiring more energy.

1. Seat positioning

2. Body orientation with respect to the ground, and location of the lower extremities
relative to the crank spindle are additional factors that need to be considered because
of their possible effect on force production and total force contribution to the pedals
in cycling.
• Changes in body orientation
– This will affect muscle force/tension-length relationships and force production if it results in hip
angle changes. Changes in body orientation without changes in hip angle may affect the body
weight contribution to the force on the pedals (depending on the location of the lower body to
the crank spindle).
• Standard upright bicycle
– the leg weight will be contributing to the total force on the pedals during the power stroke.
• Reclining/recumbent position
– the lower extremities are below the crank spindle (cycling in an inverted position), work would
have to be done in not just overcoming the cycle resistance/load, but also in overcoming the
weight of the lower limbs when pedaling-working against gravity, resulting in less total force
applied to the pedals during the power/pushing stroke.
• Note about inverted seating
– It will benefit and more effective to pull against the pedals during the recovery phase ( which is
done by using the leg weight and helped by the effect of gravity ) than during the power phase
which work would have to overcome gravity pertaining the limb weight.
• Recumbent bicycles are less effective for hill climbing
– Less effective than upright bicycles because they have the pedals located above the cyclists hip
(due to low sitting position), this requires the cyclists to pedal upwards against gravity ( because
of leg weight) during the powerstroke phase. In summary when encountering a hill the cyclists
would need to overcome n even greater proportion of the lower limb weight during the
powerstoke phase, which requires more exhausted energy.

3. • greater power can be produced in a recumbent
position and is attributed to differences in joint
angles during the pedal cycle
• Limitations
– At the rate of 1/4hp, continuous pedaling can be done
for only short periods, approxamatley only 10 minutes
• Many more factors that are required to proove
proper seating position, will look in more detail.
• Toe pedaling seems to be very effective as well