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To me this seems much harder to learn and to ride. In fact pedaling helps keep the balance as spinning wheels have gyro effect.
by mitko 17y ago
To me this seems much harder to learn and to ride. In fact pedaling helps keep the balance as spinning wheels have gyro effect.
- a-priori 17y agoI'm pretty sure that the act of pedalling (i.e, rotating the pedals and sprockets) has no significant gyroscopic effect...
- tomjen2 17y agoThat seems hard to believe. It is very nearly impossible to hold the bicycle for more than a few seconds when it is standing still, but I can ride it for half an hour (traffic permitting) with no problem.
- mapleoin 17y agobut you can also ride it for as long as you like if you're going down hill, without pedalling.
- a-priori 17y agoThat stability comes from the angular momentum in the wheels, not in the drive train.
- Luc 17y agoThe gyroscopic action of the wheels actually has very little effect on stability. It is the fact that the front wheel counter-steers when you get out of equilibrium that is the major reason for staying upright. EDIT: Here's the link: http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~hemh/gyrobike.htm http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~hemh/gyrobike.htm
- a-priori 17y agoI stand corrected. Thanks.
- pbhjpbhj 17y agoHe says that the gyroscopic effect is small compared to the weight of the bike and rider. The enhanced gyroscopic stability appears to be a near constant-rotating balanced mass; it's still rotating with the wheel but at an angular velocity such that the gyro effect is constant (ie reducing slightly as the wheel's own weight adds to the gyro effect?). Thus you get the gyro stability that you get when riding quickly with no hands but constantly, even when riding slowly. It's neat for sure and bound to do well as it's hiding the stabiliser away and pretending the kid is more advanced, hence parents will love it as their kids will look "better" than the neighbours kid!
- jacquesm 17y agoThanks for that link, nice to see it worked out so well. I have a zephyr recumbent, which is very hard to ride with any amount of relaxation, I'm now wondering what the reason is that recumbents are as a rule designed with straight front forks.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- mitko 17y agoWhy I am being down voted? I was just saying my opinion. Also this opinion comes from the fact that I have tried riding bike with my legs not on the pedals and it felt unstable and uncomfortable.
- jrockway 17y agoIt is not unstable. It is uncomfortable because you are putting all your weight on your crotch, rather than on your (much stronger) legs.