Setup and method for assessing hand vibration and perceived discomfort during road race and gravel bike handlebars vibration

Vibration transmitted through bike handlebars to the hand-arm system can lead to vascular and musculoskeletal problems. In turn, the characteristics of the handlebar, grip, and tapes affect the perceived discomfort during riding. Controlled studies identifying handlebar vibration effects on kinematics and discomfort are currently lacking. Our work aims at creating a reliable setup and test protocols for comparing different materials and measuring how different vibration on a bike handlebar affect the perceived discomfort and vibration transmission on the hand. The setup composes a 1 or 3-degrees of freedom electromechanical shaker (depending on the tests to be performed), on a laser doppler vibrometer and a triaxial force plate. An overall index of comfort (vibration perception index) is used to compare different handlebars, grips, tapes, or material in general. A case-study is presented and discussed.