Development of a cost-effective smart saddle mat for bike fitting purposes

Engineering of Sport 15 - Proceedings from the 15th International Conference on the Engineering of Sport (ISEA 2024)

Commercially available pressure measuring mats (Novel, medilogic, GebioMized, SQlab, Tekscan) for assessment of pressure distribution on the saddle during bike fitting have a high sensor resolution, but are also relatively expensive. In addition to pressure distribution, the movement of the centre of pressure (COP) provides valuable information as its variability and entropy correlate with the level of discomfort while cycling. In general, greater pressure at the perineum represents a risk factor for pathologies of the urogenital system. According to Swart & Holliday (2019), “no studies have been conducted to assess how changes in the configuration of the bicycle affect the saddle pressure indexes, and there are no defined norms for these variables”. The aim of this study is to develop a cost-effective smart saddle mat and test its applicability for measuring performance parameters.