ReviewEuropean journal of applied physiology2009
Efficiency in cycling: a review.
Review in European journal of applied physiology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Heavy strength training effects on physiological determinants of endurance cyclist performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Heat Acclimation and Acclimatisation on Maximal Aerobic Capacity Compared to Exercise Alone in Both Thermoneutral and Hot Environments: A Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Pooled it
- The Effect of Exercise Training on the Energetic Cost of Cycling.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2015Pooled it
- Cadence effects on cardiorespiratory and muscular responses during eccentric cycling.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Trial
- The Effect of Different Cadence on Paddling Gross Efficiency and Economy in Stand-Up Paddle Boarding.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Ketone ester supplementation blunts overreaching symptoms during endurance training overload.The Journal of physiology · 2019Trial
- Mechanical-ventilatory responses to peak and ventilation-matched upper- versus lower-body exercise in normal subjects.Experimental physiology · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Time-resolved energy-share reconstruction of individual glycolytic flux kinetics reveals duration-dependent bias in elite sprint cycling.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Metabolic energy expenditure during level, uphill, and downhill running.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Case Study on Skin Calorimetry: Modeling Localized Muscle Heat Transfer During Exercise.Biosensors · 2025Article
- Higher legs muscle mass reduces gross mechanical efficiency during moderate intensity cycling in young healthy men.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- On the estimation of total muscle work done in human walking.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Incline dependence of the power-duration relationship in cross-country skiing.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Mechanical efficiency: associations with body composition and glycemic profile in healthy adults.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Article
- Sex Differences in Performance and Performance-Determining Factors in the Olympic Winter Endurance Sports.Sports medicine - open · 2024Review
- Leg cycling efficiency is unaltered in healthy aging regardless of sex or training status.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2024Article
- Brief cycling intervals incrementally increase the number of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in human peripheral blood.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Running Economy in the Vertical Kilometer.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Is Running Power a Useful Metric? Quantifying Training Intensity and Aerobic Fitness Using Stryd Running Power Near the Maximal Lactate Steady State.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We focus on the effect of cadence and work rate on energy expenditure and efficiency in cycling, and present arguments to support the contention that gross efficiency can be considered to be the most relevant expression of efficiency. A linear relationship between work rate and energy expenditure appears to be a rather consistent outcome among the various studies considered in this review, irrespective of subject performance level. This relationship is an example of the Fenn effect, described more than 80 years ago for muscle contraction. About 91% of all variance in energy expenditure can be explained by work rate, with only about 10% being explained by cadence. Gross efficiency is strongly dependent on work rate, mainly because of the diminishing effect of the (zero work-rate) base-line energy expenditure with increasing work rate. The finding that elite athletes have a higher gross efficiency than lower-level performers may largely be explained by this phenomenon. However, no firm conclusions can be drawn about the energetically optimal cadence for cycling because of the multiple factors associated with cadence that affect energy expenditure.
Indexed as
Identifiers
19229554What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.