Validity And Reliability of The Wattbike For The Wingate Anaerobic Test

The Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) is widely recognized for assessing anaerobic power and capacity. While the Lode cycle ergometer has been validated for the WAnT, the Wattbike's validity and reliability require further investigation. PURPOSE: To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Wattbike for conducting the WAnT by comparing its performance metrics in the "30-second test" setting to the WAnT on the Lode cycle ergometer. METHODS: 11 participants (male = 7, female = 4; age: Mean = 23 yrs 2.9 yrs; height: Mean = 171.5 cm 8.7 cm; weight: Mean = 76.8 kg 13.9 kg) ± ± ± Familiarization trials for WAnT were completed on both bikes, followed by a randomized testing session on each bike. We measured power output (Wpeak, Wmean), mean power per kg, peak cadence, fatigue index, pre/post-test RPE, and pre/post-blood lactate. Statistics were analyzed using SPSS software. Paired samples t-tests, correlation analyses, and Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the data. Bonferroni correction was applied to control for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Significant differences in peak power (p = .005), mean power (p < .001), mean power/kg (p < .001), and fatigue index (p = .009) were observed between the Wattbike and Lode ergometers, with the Lode consistently yielding higher values. Post-exercise lactate levels at 3 minutes were significantly higher on the Wattbike (p = .008). No significant differences were found for peak cadence, pre-exercise lactate, or 6-minute post-exercise lactate (p > .05). A strong positive correlation was found between Wattbike and Lode mean power outputs (r = 0.890, p < .001), indicating consistent performance trends across devices. Reliability and agreement analyses are ongoing. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary data demonstrate that the Wattbike is a reliable method for assessing power output, evidenced by high correlation coefficients and consistent measures across trials. However, the "30 Second Test" setting on the Wattbike does not produce similar power outputs or fatigue index results compared to the standardized Wingate test conducted on the Lode ergometers. Therefore, while the Wattbike is a reliable tool for measuring performance, its preset test protocols may not be valid substitutes for traditional Wingate testing when accuracy in anaerobic power assessment is critical.