BIOMECHANICAL PERFORMANCES OF CLOSED-CELL POLYURETHANE TIRE AND TRADITIONAL PNEUMATIC BICYCLING TIRE

Abstract

The comparison of pedaling forces of closed-cell polyurethane and traditional pneumatic bicycle road tires on a training-roller was investigated. Four amateur cyclists and one former professional cyclist who attend the University of Ottawa were tested. The force required to pedal with the two types of tire was recorded with in-shoe plantar pressure/force measurement. It was determined that the difference in total force between the pneumatic and the closed-cell polyurethane tires was not found statistically significant (p > 0.05) for both conditions of 10-second sprints and 20-minute endurance trials. However, the average percentage differences of the total force for sprint and endurance were 2.8% and 0.4% respectively. This displays that under these conditions the closed cell polyurethane tire did not provide a significant difference in performance when compared to pneumatic tire.