Influence of wheel rim width on rolling resistance and off-road speed in cross-country mountain biking.

Maier, Thomas; Müller, Beat; Allemann, Remo; Steiner, Thomas; Wehrlin, Jon (2019). Influence of wheel rim width on rolling resistance and off-road speed in cross-country mountain biking. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(7), pp. 833-838. Taylor & Francis 10.1080/02640414.2018.1530057

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The rim width of cross-country mountain bike wheel sets has increased in recent years, but the effect of this increase on performance remains unknown. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of rim width on rolling resistance and off-road speed. We compared 3 tubeless wheel sets: 25 mm inner width as baseline, 30 mm width with the same tyre stiffness, and 30 mm width with the same tyre pressure. Three riders conducted 75 rolling resistance tests for each wheel set on a cross-country course. We determined rolling resistance using the virtual elevation method and calculated off-road speeds for flat and uphill conditions using a mathematical model. Baseline rolling resistance (C; r; ) was 0.0298, 90% CI [0.0286, 0.0310], which decreased by 1.4%, [0.7, 2.2] with the wider rim and the same tyre stiffness and increased by 0.9%, [0.1, 1.6] with the wider rim and the same tyre pressure. The corresponding effects on off-road speed were most likely trivial (0.0% to 0.7% faster and 0.1% to 0.6% slower, respectively). Because the effect of rim width on off-road speed seems negligible, athletes should choose the rim width that offers the best bike handling and should experiment with low tyre pressures.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Swiss Federal Institute of Sports Magglingen SFISM > EHSM - Leistungssport > Sportphysiologie Ausdauer
Name:	Maier, Thomas; Müller, Beat; Allemann, Remo; Steiner, Thomas and Wehrlin, Jon
ISSN:	0264-0414
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Language:	English
Submitter:	Service Account
Date Deposited:	21 Sep 2020 11:09
Last Modified:	11 Jul 2023 11:42
Publisher DOI:	10.1080/02640414.2018.1530057
Related URLs:	Publication
PubMed ID:	30558492
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Virtual elevation cycling mathematical model Sportphysiologie Ausdauer
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.11062
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/11062