Created On: 3/22/2024
It's not rocket science, really...
Ever since I started riding a bicycle I slowly learned the principles of physics from riding, it's not a sudden realization, but as you ride more you begin to understand the fundamental principles of physics, like momentum, speed, and resistance, as a few examples. In this blog post I'll only be covering the essentials that are necessary to understand so that you can improve your bicycling skills and to make bicycling easier for you as well.
One of the most critical understandings of bicycle physics is found in a joke, "Why can't a bicycle stand up on it's own? It's 2 Tired." Yeah, it's a silly joke, but because a bicycle doesn't have more than 2 wheels it must be moving in order for you to stay on it, otherwise you'll fall off the bicycle, and that is the first fundamental principle for learning to ride a bicycle. (The First Less you teach your kids)
Moreover, you not only need to be moving, but you also need balance, so don't lean, or the bike will indeed lean with you, and if you lean to far, well you'll fall over and crash. Falling down is very painful sometimes and it is why many people are scared to ride bicycles, but there are a few things you need to be aware of so that you don't fall down, like braking on sand, gravel, or trash (Like plastic bags or leaves even), and that's because if you press on the brakes while on a slippery surface, you are going down and fast too!
Stopping is just as important as going, because if you get going too fast, well you might not be able to stop very quickly, and going fast is dangerous on bicycles indeed, especially if you hit a large hump. (You & the bicycle will go flying into the air!!) Speed determines what kind of tricks you can do or cannot do, because trying to pop a wheelie while going too fast is literally impossible, and trying to do an endo trick while moving too slow won't allow you to stay up very long.
Also, momentum plays a huge factor in how easy and fast it is to get up a hill, which is where you have substantial speed before you enter the hill, and the more momentum you have, the easier and faster it is to climb the hill. However, I'm getting a bit too far ahead of myself here, because a lot of beginner riders don't even shift much, and that's sad because they don't understand the basics of mechanical advantage from gearing on a bicycle. (Assuming you have more than one gear that is!)
A bicycle with multiple gears allows you to make it easier to get up hill if you have lower gears (1.25+ to 1 Gear Ratios) or go faster down hill if you have really high gears (1 to 3+ gear ratio), and gear ratios are very simple. The larger the gears are in the middle, the faster they turn the gears in the back, and the smaller the gear in the middle, the less force you have to use to turn the gears in the back.
On the inverse those, the gears on the back end of the bicycle act a bit differently, regardless of which gear you are in the middle, and that's because the rear gears change the gear ratio the most, but I'll let you learn that from a professional video. However, for those who just want to understand it simply, the bigger the gear you use in the back (E.g. 1rst, 2nd, 3rd gears), the easier it is to pedal, but you go slower, and the smaller gear you use (E.g. 4th, 5th, etc.), the harder it is to pedal, but you go faster!
Learning to shift is critical to increasing the efficiency of your pedaling, but if you have ever rode a BMX bike with just one crank gear and one rear gear (Or a Fixie Bike), then you probably understand that hills will requires you to stand up and exert extreme downward force on the pedal in order to overcome the hill, and for this reason I've seen a lot of people hate bicycles because they try to sit down while going up hill on a fixed gear bicycle.
With multiple gears you don't have to stand up to get up hills, you can just shift to a lower gear and maintain a steady cadence pedaling to conquer the hill without exerting a lot of force, and if you want to conquer hills with ease, then you'll need to get going fast before you enter the hill as I've explained above. Also, you may want to shift to middle gear and finish the hill standing and stepping on the pedals with all of your weight to finish the climb, if you have momentum that is.
It's literally impossible to try to climb a hill sitting down if it's steep enough, the force need to get up hill even in low gear is simply too much, and this is why you should learn first on a single gear bicycle first, so that you understand the luxury of extra gears. Then there is the topic of resistance, which includes multiple factors, and resistance is anything that slows you down, especially wind!
When wind is blowing fast enough at you, it can literally bring you to a stop, even on a flat surface or while riding down hill, and it can also knock you off your bicycle if it's a really fast wind. Therefore wind is the enemy of bicyclist abroad, unless it's at your back, then it can make pedaling much easier, and even push you faster too!
Resistance also comes from bearings being old or dry, your chain not being free from dirt and/or being dry (No Lubrication), and then there is rolling resistance, which is multi faceted. Rolling resistance is a result of either poor tires for the surface you are riding on, debris on the surface, or a soft or spongey surface, like sand at a beach or muddy terrain.
Smooth thinner tires are good for the road, wider & bigger tires with traction on them are better for off-road, and the amount of air you have in your tires can greatly effect rolling resistance as well. Underinflated tires will result in more resistance, unless it's a larger tire which only needs like 15-20 PSI, and that's because underinflated tires bend more, which causes resistance, and if you have too much underinflation it will lead to flats and possibly even a bent rim! (Costly!)
I've found that manual disc brakes are better than hydraulic, because hydraulic disc brakes lock up the front wheel to easily (Which causes you to crash!), and though they do have a specific use for downhill offroad Mountain Biking, they aren't really suited for front wheel braking on the roads unless you go downhill A LOT. Braking also can cause resistance if the brakes aren't properly set, because they're rubbing against your rim or always engaged due to improper alignment, and that kind of resistance is quite difficult to pedal against. (Bent rims can also cause brake rubbing too!)
On a flat surface you can travel with ease, on an decline (Going downhill) you don't even have to pedal, and this is what makes bicycles superior to walking, the amount of time it takes to travel and the load it takes off your feet! Speaking of loads, weight also increases the amount of resistance you meet while rolling, and all of these resistances slow you down, exponentially so too!
What do I mean by exponentially? Well, it's a compounding factor, if you have 2 things giving you resistance, that resistance is multiplied, and that's because there are multiple forces acting against you, which means they are working together (Multiplying the amount of resistance). On a windless warm day, with dry roads, and a properly maintained bicycle, riding is fun and easy unless you are going up a big hill.
However, your understanding of bicycling can help you or hinder you as well, and that's because not using proper gearing or not using momentum in your favor, is going to affect your overall experience riding. This is why physics plays a huge roll in your bicycling experience, you may also come to learn that it's much easier to ride if you are under 150 pounds / 68 kg in weight, and of course your stamina and actual muscular ability plays a huge roll as well, but even a scrawny kid can ride a bike!
The greatest thing I learned while riding, physics related that is, is that the energy you exert on the pedals causes your feet to get hot, due to friction and energy transfer, and that's why it's rather important to utilize shoes with a means for air to enter your shoes while riding. Wind drag does cause resistance, this is why many bicyclist use elastic / silky clothing, to reduce wind drag, even smooth helmets, and though it's not a huge factor, it's important to professional racers.
By understanding the very basic principles I've outlined here, you should be able to understand how to make riding easier for your self, and hopefully you can take this knowledge and pass it on to kids or other adults so that they can understand how to become a better bicyclist. Understanding truly does make life so much more enjoyable, this is why it's critical to share what you learn with others, and that's so they can understand too.
Thanks for reading, I hope this blog helps you, and please share a link with others, thanks!.
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