Physics of Bicycles Essay - 978 Words

Physics plays a vital role in all that we do, whether we are aware of it or not. The sport of bicycling is no exception to the physical laws of Mother Nature. Friction is a resistive force that always acts in a direction that is opposite to the motion of a body. Frictional forces are dependent on two components; the coefficient of friction and the normal force. Friction = ( µ)(n) There are two different types of frictional coefficients, static and kinetic. The coefficient of static friction is the frictional force that must be overcome before any motion commences. It is caused by the minuscule contact points between our tires and the riding surface (There is frictional losses present in every mechanical connection on the bike†¦show more content†¦The difference between tires might be hard to distinguish but the variation between terrains is pretty easy to differentiate. Riding on the sidewalk is noticeably easier than riding among boulders! This is due to the greater amount of friction between the ground and the tires. The wind plays a big part in the forces affecting a bicycle and its rider. The air flow over a rider and their bicycle is far from smooth. Wind resistance, sometimes called drag, is caused by the atmospheric flow around the rider, wheels, and frame and can produce a relatively large frictional force especially at higher speeds. At higher speeds this resistive force can be approximated by: R=1/2DÏ Av2 Where Ï  is the density of air, A is the cross-sectional area of the riderbike, v is the velocity, and D is the drag coefficient. There are basically only two ways to reduce drag. The first method is to reduce the overall cross-sectional area. The can be accomplished by using a bicycle that is specifically designed to put the rider into a more aerodynamical position, as seen in figure 2. Reduction of the drag coefficient is also an important factor in decreasing the resistance. 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