Questions tagged [bicycles]
32 questions
10
votes
4 answers
Why don't motorcycles have as good a turning radius as bicycles?
The question is about why are motorcycles not manufactured with handlebars that can turn to great degrees like a bicycle. In most motorcycles, you hardly have a steering angle of about 20-30 degrees, whereas on a bicycle, you can even go beyond 90…
Siddh Aarth
- 113
- 1
- 6
6
votes
4 answers
What are the technical obstacles for using flywheel-based regenerative braking on bicycles?
Is it possible to convert the energy you would normally lose when braking your bicycle to rotational energy by attaching an extra wheel which would start to rotate once you use your brakes? E.g., when facing a red light after riding down a hill.
If…
Gert
- 161
- 5
5
votes
7 answers
What makes scooters unstable at high speeds?
Scooters and skateboards are obviously meant for slower speeds, below 5 MPH. Typically if you go faster than that, it becomes harder and harder to control the scooter, and you will fall off. An example of this is the speed wobble, examples easily…
user16388
- 53
- 3
4
votes
1 answer
Clamping force of a bicycle quick release skewer
In brief: between a standard quick-release skewer and a bolt-on skewer, which will provide greater clamping force?
More detail:
Modern bicycle wheels are held in place by clamping skewers that run through hollow axles. The typical "quick release"…
Carl
- 41
- 4
4
votes
1 answer
Calculate max deceleration without front wheel slipping (bicycle)
I am trying to calculate the maximum braking force/deceleration for a bicycle.
Note: the question assumes only the front brake is used
Free body diagram:
Typo: in the image above, "$F_{a,\ max(dry)} = g X_3 / h$" is wrong, since it is an…
Maarten -Monica for president
- 217
- 2
- 10
3
votes
1 answer
Why is the open-front bike stem design so widespread despite that it may be inferior to the closed-front design?
Context
Even major bicycle corporations have the occasional
product recall on handlebars.
It's easy to see why. The bike itself is a gentle, light, and nimble ~10 kg (for a road bike) object, whereas the weight of the brute riding it is anywhere…
Sam
- 385
- 2
- 7
3
votes
1 answer
Actual amount of reinforcement gained by adding gusset to welded steel tube construction
This question bothers me for quite a while and is about bicycle frame construction, specifically a BMX frame and even more specifically it's front triangle.
It is a heavy duty frame by definition, and most common point of frame failure in this area,…
MumenRider
- 31
- 2
2
votes
0 answers
How fast could a human pedal a car?
Suppose that we were to install bicycle pedals into a passenger car, say a civic coupe, in such a way that pedaling is as mechanically efficient as riding an ordinary bike. Further suppose that we have a transmission with whatever the appropriate…
Him
- 121
- 5
2
votes
2 answers
How do I add magnets to the mechanism of my exercise bike?
I have an exercise bike that works by a (I'm assuming solid iron) flywheel and a 'horseshoe' of magnets that are moved in and out to set the difficulty.
I have attached an image of the same design found on Google Images so you can see what I…
Tim
- 29
- 1
- 2
2
votes
1 answer
What is the impact toughness for some common bicycle frame materials?
I've been trying to compare popular materials for bicycle frames in terms of their mechanical properties. One thing I noticed is that it's hardly possible to find a data sheet specifying the impact toughness of a material. I've only found it for…
Slovakov
- 161
- 1
- 1
- 7
1
vote
1 answer
Why there is no piston style pedal bicycle?
I have interested in walking bicycle. For the concept is just bicycle that you don't cycling pedal but stepping or striding to drive wheel
Which leads me to think that is it better if we use linear or ellipse motion of leg to transmit to bicycle
The…
Thaina
- 129
- 5
1
vote
1 answer
How are sealed bearings assembled?
Sealed bearings are a common component on modern bicycles.
Even if you take off the plastic covers of sealed bearings, the ball bearings inside will not fall out.
How is such a part assembled in the first place?
Sam
- 385
- 2
- 7
1
vote
2 answers
Can epoxy bond two Aluminum alloy beams?
The bicycle component manufacturer Shimano makes crankarms named "Hollowtech".
Hollowtech crankarms are meant to be both strong and light. As the diagram below (source: Shimano) shows, the outer shell is made from an aluminum alloy and the inside is…
Sam
- 385
- 2
- 7
1
vote
2 answers
With ebikes, is there friction from the motor when riding with the electronics turned off?
One may want to ride an electric bike with the electronics turned off. There are many reasons to do this, i.e. flat battery, fitness (who would have thought)
When riding an ebike conventionally, is there a resistive friction caused by the DC…
Jackson Harvey
- 113
- 3
1
vote
2 answers
Bike wheel sizes
I was passing by a row of motorbikes and mopeds yesterday, and noticed they all have really small radius wheels compared to bicycles. Not all motorbikes are equal (some motorbikes are literally bicycles with engines), but generally it seems that…
BenRW
- 113
- 4