Sitting comfort for pedal operators

Abstract

The objective of this study was to research sitting comfort of pedal operation based on subjective assessment and posture angles. Experiments were conducted on 82 subjects who were divided into four groups according to gender and stature percentile. Twenty-four positions were tested based on the relative distances between the pedal and the sitting reference point (SgRP) in vertical and horizontal directions, as a complete combination of pedal 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55% and 60% of stature in the front and pedal 2.5%, 7.5%, 12.5% and 17.5% of stature below the SgRP. The sitting comfort of pedal operation at each particular position was evaluated at scaled values, with measuring posture angles (hip, knee and ankle) for each position. Scores and posture angles for the whole and specific groups were analyzed and their relationships with anthropometry data were explored. It was concluded that the optimal pedal positions were pedal in the front at 50% to 55% of stature and below the SgRP at 7.5% to 12.5% of stature. The best posture angle in comfortable positions was 81-98° for ankle, 100-126° for knee and 91-109° for hip.