Road cycling, a non-weight bearing endurance activity is associated with lower than expected bone mineral density (BMD) in its participants.Whole body vibration (WBV) has been shown to have therapeutic potential in increasing BMD in groups who have an elevated risk of fracture, yet the effects of WBV training have not been examined in road cyclists. PURPOSE: To determine the effects of ten weeks of WBV training, on the bone health in a group of well-trained road cyclists. METHODS: Nineteen road cyclists were randomly assigned to either a WBV training intervention (n=11), three times per week, ten minutes per session, for ten weeks, or a control cycling group (n=8) who did not add WBV to their training. Both groups continued with their normal cycling training during the study period. The cyclists were matched for age, height and weight with 19 sedentary subjects. At baseline, all participants underwent Dual X-ray Absorptiometry scans to measure site specific and regional BMD, bone mineral content (BMC) and lean and fat tissue; calcium intake and training history (for 19 cyclists) were also assessed. All cyclists were reassessed after ten weeks of training. RESULTS: At baseline, cyclists had lower hip (0.76±0.19 vs. 1.00±0.61g.cm-2, p<0.0001), pelvis (1.18±0.16 vs. 1.65±0.57 g.cm-2, p=0.002) and higher head BMD (2.41±0.41 vs. 1.82±0. 60g.cm-2, p=0.001) than sedentary control subjects. After the ten week WBV intervention, hip BMD increased significantly in the vibration cycling group (0.67±0.12 to 0.97±0.11 g.cm-2, p<0.0001) but not in the cycling control group. Ulna BMC (6.87±1.22g to 6.95 ± 1.23g, p=0.04) and radius BMC (10.37±1.70 to 10.52±1.70g, p=0.006) increased significantly in the vibration cycling group, but not in the control cyclists. CONCLUSION: Ten weeks of WBV training offers an intermittent alteration of force, displacement and acceleration and increases hip BMD and forearm BMC in road cyclists who have lower than normal bone mass and an increased fracture risk because of their greater risk of falling consequent to the nature of their sport.