November 19, 2009
Bicycle - a Perfect Associate
A bicycle is a human supercharged vehicle that has a frame tied with two wheels and that is
driven by a pedal. presented during the 19th centuries bicycles are known to outdo the
full number of motor vehicles by a ratio of 2 to 1. In many regions of the earth, bicycles are the main method of transport. Although
the essential use of the bicycle is as a means of transport, it has developed other uses including recreational actions, fitness activities
law enforcement diligences and competitive sports.
History of Bicycles
Ever since the chain driven model was introduced to the market, the fundamental
pattern of the bicycle had remained unchanged up to day. But, other advances such as using computers to design
and check the stability have been made to the bicycle from its manufacturing process. These methods have greatly aided the spawn of
special 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 automobiles by introducing concepts such as ball bearings, pneumatic tires and spoke tensioned wheels.
Features of a Bicycle
When citing to bicycles, the dynamics of the bicycle should be considered first. A bicycle has to maintain its center of gravity over the wheels in order to stay upright or balanced.
Therefore, it accomplishes this by the moving forward using the steering which is unremarkably provided by the rider
and sometimes even by the bicycle itself. Additionally, in order to pilot successfully the body of the rider must balance out the dynamics,
particularly at turns. A technique mentioned to as counter-steering is used to attain this task by directly turning the handlebars with the hands
or indirectly leaning or slanting the bicycle.
Through both biological and mechanical view points, the bicycle is an highly
competent machine. When
equating the energy an individual must spend to travel a given distance, the bicycle is stated to be the most efficiently
functioning self powered method of transportation. Nearly, 99% of the energy is transferred to the wheels of the bicycle when a
rider exerts energy into the pedals. However when gears mechanisms are used this figure may drop by 10-15%.A rider using a bicycle
feels air drag or the resistive force that is exerted by air. At higher speeds, importantly greater power outputs are needed to overcome the air drag. When a rider is sitting in an upright position, the
body of the rider accounts for nearly 75% of the total drag practiced by the bicycle and rider combined. 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
features of a bicycle are frame, steering mechanisms, seating, drivetrain, suspension, wheels and brakes. Some
bicycles use optional mechanics to get advantage for the dynamics of the bicycle. Using gears a rider can produce a higher power output with a relatively low
power input and thus, maximising the efficiency of the bicycle.
