3 ms·
The perceived efficiency of bipedal movement comes mostly from the ludicrous efficiency of biological actors when converting chemical into kinetic energy – a cy
by claudius 12y ago
The perceived efficiency of bipedal movement comes mostly from the ludicrous efficiency of biological actors when converting chemical into kinetic energy – a cyclist (or even runner) can go a day on the chemical energy that would get a motorcycle to the next petrol station [0].
Also consider that even the fastest bipedal runners tend to go much slower than any motorised vehicle, and even quadruped animals rarely reach into what is considered standard with cars.
[0] The guideline daily amounts for a human are roughly 10 MJ, from personal experience, cycling a bit during the day only increases that marginally (e.g. 10-20%). It seems reasonable to claim 1 MJ per 100 km cycled, whereas one kg of gasoline (~1L) is at ~42 MJ. Given the usual 1-10L/100 km, 1 MJ appear to correspond to a few kilometres.