3 ms·
The gyroscopic effect of wheels has a minimal impact on the tendency of things like bicycles to remain balanced; the majority of the effect comes from the rake
by arijun 3y ago
The gyroscopic effect of wheels has a minimal impact on the tendency of things like bicycles to remain balanced; the majority of the effect comes from the rake of the front wheel (i.e. that the point where it touches the ground is ahead of the pivot point of the front post).
That gyroscopic effect of the wheel works well when the whole device is wheel (think hoop rolling), but when you start adding weight that's not spinning (like someone riding a scooter), the effect falls off.
Edit: it seems that neither the gyroscopic effect nor rake are sufficient to explain bicycles' self-stability: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-mass-skate_bicycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-mass-skate_bicycle
- phyzome 3y ago« the point where it touches the ground is ahead of the pivot point of the front post » The other way around -- the contact patch of the tire is behind the projection of the head tube onto the ground. I love that there are actually three different stability mechanisms. I wonder if there are others!
- mring33621 3y agosee https://2swiftboards.com/ https://2swiftboards.com/, which is an electric scooter with no handlebars. At low speeds, a high-friction headset adds stability by damping the tendency to turn and flop. At higher speeds, the reverse fork rake and spinning wheels provide stability. This is my read on it, as someone that uses a 2Swift as a commuter vehicle, but the physics-based explanation may differ.