Biclycle – a Life Saver?
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009Being one of the most basic human power-driven vehicles, the bicycle has two wheels connected to a vehicle that
is driven by a pedal. Bicycles were first presented in the 19th century and it is asked that presently there are approximately about
one billion bicycles worldwide, outnumbering cars 2 to 1. Bicycles being the main method of carry in many corners of the globe, the bicycle is also majorly used for other recreational actions and for the purpose of fitness and even in the case of law enforcement actions such as petrolling an area.
The Story of Bicycles
Ever since the chain driven model was presented to the market, the primary
innovation of the bicycle had remained unchanged up to day. But, other advances such as using computers to pattern
and check the stability have been made to the bicycle from its manufacturing process. These methods have greatly aided the spawn of
specified bicycles for particular purposes such as racing, utility and law enforcement uses. Additionally, the concept of the bicycle has up to a great extent extended its contribution for the development of autos by introducing concepts such as ball bearings, pneumatic tires and spoke tensioned wheels.
Things to Look in a Bicycle
When referring to bicycles, the dynamics of the bicycle should be seen first. A bicycle has to maintain its center of gravity over the wheels in order to stay upright or balanced.
Therefore, it reaches this by the moving forward using the steering which is normally provided by the rider
and sometimes even by the bicycle itself. In addition in order to successfully navigate a turn, the combined or total center of mass
of both the bicycle and the rider must lean into the turn. Counter-steering is a task that is used in this regard.
Bicycle can be classified as an extremely
competent machine looked at in both biological and mechanical view point. Energy needed from the rider for the bicycle to perform its
wonders are high on the list but given the distance that a bicycle can take you through without fuel, it becomes a
valuable journey at the end. The bicycle wheels carry nearly 99% of the energy because the rider exerts energy to pedals. But in
bicycles that have gear mechanisms, the energy needed will be diminished However the air drag faced by the rider will
always remain a problem. When the speed is high, a lot of energy will be needed
to overcome this airdrag resulting in an exhaustive ride for the rider. The only way to reduce the air drag is to significantly reduce the position to supine or prone that is in line with aerodynamics.
The main parts of the bicycle include the frame, steering mechanics, seating, drivetrain, suspension, wheels and brakes. Certain bicycles may include optional
mechanics such as gearing which uses distinct sizes of gears to obtain a mechanical advantage from the bicycle. Using gears a rider can produce a higher power output with a relatively low
power input and thus, maximizing the efficiency of the bicycle.
