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Endurance Sports Medicine pp 215–227Cite as

Clinical Considerations of Bike Fitting for the Triathlete

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Abstract

Over the last 15 years, the visibility and popularity of the sport of triathlon has grown tremendously, and it is now a major Olympic event. Injury rates in triathlon have been shown to be as high as 91 %. The cycling portion of any triathlon distance (sprint, Olympic, half iron, full iron, or ultra) comprises approximately 75–80 % of the total race. Thus, considerations pertaining to bike fit, injury, and performance are extremely important to the sport of triathlon regardless of the distance. Lower extremity joints are affected the most during cycling and are influenced by a variety of factors including workload, foot position on the pedal, seat tube angle, and saddle height. Cycling position in triathlon is a balancing act between maximal power output, comfort, and aerodynamics. The purpose of this chapter is not to develop the clinician into a bike fitter but to serve as a resource to assist the clinician in treating triathletes particularly with a focus on the cycling aspect of their sport. The focus of this chapter will be to briefly discuss the limited history of triathlon, the relationships between cycling and injury in the triathlete, and the biomechanics of a bike fitting specific to the triathlete.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. OSU Sports Medicine and Sports Medicine Research Institute, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 2050 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH, 43221, USA

    Matthew S. Briggs

  2. Sports Rehabilitation Clinic, UW Health at The American Center, 4602 Eastpark Boulevard, Madison, WI, 53718, USA

    Travis Obermire

Authors
  1. Matthew S. Briggs
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  2. Travis Obermire
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Correspondence to Matthew S. Briggs .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Gahanna, Ohio, USA

    Timothy L Miller

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Briggs, M.S., Obermire, T. (2016). Clinical Considerations of Bike Fitting for the Triathlete. In: Miller, T. (eds) Endurance Sports Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32982-6_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32982-6_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32980-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32982-6

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