Super Fitness Health BlogYour Bicycle Questions Answered!
The bicycle is the most efficient way of transportation ever invented. It transforms your energy into movement. But how does it work?
Bicycles are simple and elegant machines that help people get from place to place. It is a lot easier to understand than a motorbike or a car. All the parts of a bicycle are visible, so we can actually see the working parts interacting before our eyes.
Bicycles essentially work on a combination of gears, wheels and people power. Two pedals are connected to one gear, usually at the bottom center of the bicycle. When you push the pedals of your bike around once, the pedal sprocket-the wheel with teeth to which the pedals are attached-goes around once, too. But it pulls a chain along, one that is connected to a much smaller sprocket (with fewer teeth to grip each link of the chain) in the center of your bike’s rear wheel. This smaller sprocket moves around a number of times for each single turn of your pedals, moving your bike wheels a lot faster than you’re moving your feet!
Some bicycles have several “speeds,” which means that they have a number of gears (called derailleurs) that vary the rate at which their wheels turn. These extra sprockets are located at the pedals and rear wheel of a bike, where levers move the driving chain sideways, from one to another. A special spring system keeps the chain tight when it changes from a larger to a smaller sprocket. Although you might think that a rider would always want the wheels of his or her bike to move as fast as possible for each pedal turn, that is not always the case. When going uphill, for instance, a rider can get more force out of a wheel that turns fewer times, making the task easier.
In order to turn right or left, all you have to do is turn the handlebar to the desired side, isn’t it? Wrong! Cyclists turn using their body weight, the handlebar is just for counterbalancing. In fact, in order to run left, you turn a little to the right at first, which will push your weight to the left. This is called countersteering and takes places instinctively. Do it on purpose, and you will fall!
The bicycle has been around as a means of transportation since the 19th century. There are probably over 1 billion worldwide, and they remain a popular way to get around and a great form of exercise.
Comments are currently closed.