Running Shoes with a Carbon Plate vs. Traditional Cycling Shoes: Equal Performance in Cycling Sprints?

Sterns, Kyle

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Running Shoes with a Carbon Plate vs. Traditional Cycling Shoes: Equal Performance in Cycling Sprints? Public Deposited

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/08612p59g

Abstract

Triathletes almost universally use two shoe types; one for cycling and one for running. Here, I explored if hybrid running-cycling shoes could be created that maximize performance in both disciplines and enhance overall performance by saving time during the bike-to-run transition. Previous studies have demonstrated that, at submaximal efforts, shoe flexibility has no significant effect on cycling metabolic efficiency. However, flexible running shoes lacking a shoe-pedal attachment decrease maximal power output in cycling by 26% and hence negatively affect performance. Newly developed running shoes containing stiff carbon fiber plates may present a new option for triathletes. However, it is unknown if such shoes negatively affect sprinting performance in cycling. I hypothesized that hybrid running-cycling shoes with carbon plates and magnetic pedal attachments would perform as well as traditional cycling shoes during cycling sprints. I measured peak and average mechanical power output as well as velocity in 14 healthy cyclists. A 10-minute warm-up and four familiarization sprints preceded eight all-out sprints (four in each shoe condition). Subjects cycled up a road (4.9% grade) at a steady speed of 20 km/hr and then sprinted all-out for 50m, positioned out of the saddle (standing). Peak mechanical power was lower for 12 out of 14 subjects in the hybrid running-cycling shoes compared to the cycling shoes averaging 8.4 ± 6.5% less (p<0.001). Similarly, average power over 50 m was decreased for 11 of 13 subjects by 6.9 ± 5.9% (p < 0.01). Hence, I reject the null hypothesis. However, all-out sprints are rare in triathlons and thus the time losses incurred by the hybrid running-cycling shoes would be small. Since hybrid running-cycling shoes would save substantial time during the bike-to-run transition, I predict that they would provide a net overall performance benefit to competitive triathletes.

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