{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]],"date-time":"2026-03-06T03:29:22Z","timestamp":1772767762864,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":8,"publisher":"ASME International","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":["asmedigitalcollection.asme.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2002,2,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Towards the ultimate goal of designing dual suspension off-road bicycles which decouple the suspension motion from the pedaling action, this study focused on determining experimentally the optimum pivot point height for a swing-arm type rear suspension such that the suspension motion was minimized. Specific objectives were (1) to determine the effect of interaction between the front and rear suspensions on the optimal pivot point height, (2) to investigate the sensitivity of the optimal height to the pedaling mechanics of the rider in both the seated and standing postures, (3) to determine the dependence of the optimal height on the rider posture. Eleven experienced subjects rode a custom-built adjustable dual suspension off-road bicycle, [Needle, S., and Hull, M. L., 1997, \u201cAn Off-Road Bicycle With Adjustable Suspension Kinematics,\u201d Journal of Mechanical Design 119, pp. 370\u2013375], on an inclined treadmill. The treadmill was set to a constant 6 percent grade at a constant velocity of 24.8 km\/hr. With the bicycle in a fixed gear combination of 38\u00d714, the corresponding cadence was 84 rpm. For each subject, the pivot point height was varied randomly while the motions across both the front and rear suspension elements were measured. Subjects rode in both the seated and standing postures and with the front suspension active and inactive. It was found that the power loss from the rear suspension at the optimal pivot point height was not significantly dependent on the interaction between the front and rear suspensions. In the seated posture, the optimal pivot point height was 9.8 cm on average and had a range of 8.0\u201312.3 cm. The average optimal pivot point height for the seated posture corresponded to an average power loss for the rear suspension that was within 10 percent of the minimum power loss for each subject for 8 of the 11 subjects. In the standing posture, the average height was 5.9 cm and ranged from 5.1\u20137.2 cm. The average height for the standing posture was within 10 percent of the minimum power loss for each subject for 9 of the 11 subjects. While the optimum height was relatively insensitive to pedaling mechanics in both the seated and standing postures, the choice of the optimal pivot point height in production bicycles necessitates some compromise in performance given the disparity in the averages between the seated and standing postures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1115\/1.1427701","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2002,7,27]],"date-time":"2002-07-27T05:03:10Z","timestamp":1027746190000},"page":"101-106","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1115\/crossmarkpolicy-asme","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Experimental Optimization of Pivot Point Height for Swing-Arm Type Rear Suspensions in Off-Road Bicycles"],"prefix":"10.1115","volume":"124","author":[{"given":"Ari","family":"Karchin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Engineering Program, University of California, Davis, CA 95616"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"M. L.","family":"Hull","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Program, University of California, Davis, CA 95616"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"33","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2001,8,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"2019100612495984000_r1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Needle, S., and Hull, M. L., 1997, \u201cAn Off-Road Bicycle With Adjustable Suspension Kinematics,\u201d ASME J. Mech. Des., 119, pp. 370\u2013375.","DOI":"10.1115\/1.2826357"},{"key":"2019100612495984000_r2","unstructured":"Anon, \n          1992, \u201cSuspension Vs. Rigid,\u201d Mountain Bike Action, 7, pp. 28\u201340."},{"key":"2019100612495984000_r3","unstructured":"Olsen, J., 1996, \u201cBicycle Suspension Systems,\u201d in Hi-Tech Cycling, E. Burke, ed., Human Kinetics, Champaign."},{"key":"2019100612495984000_r4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, E. L., and Hull, M. L., 1997, \u201cMinimization of Pedaling Induced Energy Losses in Off-Road Bicycle Rear Suspension Systems,\u201d Veh. Syst. Dyn., 28, pp. 291\u2013306.","DOI":"10.1080\/00423119708969358"},{"key":"2019100612495984000_r5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Good, C., and McPhee, J., 1999, \u201cDynamics of Mountain Bicycles With Rear Suspensions: Modeling and Simulation,\u201d Sports Engineering, 2, pp. 129\u2013143.","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1460-2687.1999.00033.x"},{"key":"2019100612495984000_r6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, E. L., and Hull, M. L., 1996, \u201cA Model for Determining Rider Induced Energy Losses in Bicycle Suspension Systems,\u201d Veh. Syst. Dyn., 25, pp. 223\u2013246.","DOI":"10.1080\/00423119608968966"},{"key":"2019100612495984000_r7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stone, C., and Hull, M. L., 1993, \u201cRider\/Bicycle Interaction Loads During Standing Treadmill Cycling,\u201d Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 9, pp. 208\u2013218.","DOI":"10.1123\/jab.9.3.202"},{"key":"2019100612495984000_r8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tanaka, H., Bassett, D. R. J., Best, S. K., and Baker, K. R. J., 1996, \u201cSeated Versus Standing Cycling in Competitive Road Cyclists: Uphill Climbing and Maximal Oxygen Uptake,\u201d Can. J. Appl. Physiol., 21, pp. 149\u2013154.","DOI":"10.1139\/h96-013"}],"container-title":["Journal of Biomechanical Engineering"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/asmedigitalcollection.asme.org\/biomechanical\/article-pdf\/124\/1\/101\/5562304\/101_1.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"http:\/\/asmedigitalcollection.asme.org\/biomechanical\/article-pdf\/124\/1\/101\/5562304\/101_1.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,6]],"date-time":"2019-10-06T12:50:07Z","timestamp":1570366207000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/asmedigitalcollection.asme.org\/biomechanical\/article\/124\/1\/101\/450328\/Experimental-Optimization-of-Pivot-Point-Height"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2001,8,16]]},"references-count":8,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2002,2,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1115\/1.1427701","relation":{},"ISSN":["0148-0731","1528-8951"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0148-0731","type":"print"},{"value":"1528-8951","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2001,8,16]]}}}