The gyroscope effect has nothing to do with it

We have no idea how hard and tirelessly our brain works to prevent us from falling.

The British say about a very easy task that it is “as easy as riding a bicycle.” But how do we manage to keep this very bike from falling?

Most will say that it is due to the gyroscope effect. But in reality the situation is completely different.

In other words, the gyroscopic effect is explained by the fact that a rotating wheel tends to continue rotating around its axis (this is how a top and even the planet Earth remain on their axis of rotation).

This effect is noticeable to motorcyclists, because the wheels of motorcycles are large, massive and rotate quickly. But a simple cyclist does not encounter it - the wheels of a bicycle are much lighter, and at walking speed they do not spin fast enough.

If a pedal bicycle used the gyroscope effect, then any beginner would only have to push off with his foot - the laws of nature would do the rest for him.

But in reality, you will have to learn to ride a bike the same way you learned to walk.

The ability to ride a bike is solely the responsibility of your brain.

Imagine that you need to drive along a completely straight line drawn on a completely flat surface. Of course, it's very simple! But no.

It is almost impossible to drive along a narrow straight line - just as even in a sober state you are unlikely to be able to walk along it without tripping. Try it yourself.

Try another little experiment: try standing on your tiptoes on one leg, using your arms to help you balance.

It's difficult, isn't it? Now try the same thing, but jumping from foot to foot. Maintaining balance will become much easier.

The design of the bicycle allows you to control it without hands, leaning left or right

This is how you run. Your brain has learned to make small adjustments with each jump: for example, if you lean to the right, you'll shift slightly to the left on your next step.

Riding a bicycle works the same way: with each revolution of the pedals, you change direction a little.

Starting to fall to the right, you unconsciously turn the steering wheel in the same direction to change the position of the wheel, and then just as unconsciously return to your previous trajectory.

This kind of wobbling is completely normal. It is more noticeable among beginners (especially children), who ride on a rather steep “sine wave,” and is almost invisible among experienced cyclists.

However, these small fluctuations are part of the process and explain why it is so difficult to walk (or drive) in a perfectly straight line - in this case, you are unable to make those very necessary side-to-side movements.

In addition, the design of the bicycle has several useful solutions that make riding easier.

The most important of these is the tilt of the steering column (or the so-called steering column), due to which the front wheel touches the ground at a point behind the point where the steering axle projects to the ground. The distance between these points is called rollout.

The bike is designed very smartly and is even comfortable to wear.

Rolling out greatly helps maintain balance when you ride without your hands: if you lean to the right, for example, the force acting on the so-called contact patch with the ground will turn the front wheel to the right.

This feature makes it easier to control and allows you to steer without your hands, leaning slightly to the left or right.

But there are also bicycles with vertical steering columns, which can also be ridden perfectly. In fact, it is very difficult to make a bicycle that is impossible to ride, although many have attempted it.

The fact is that the bike does not fall only because of you and your consciousness, and it is easy to prove this.

Try, for example, crossing your arms. You won't even be able to move, and if you do it while moving, you risk falling right away. If the bike were held upright by a gyroscope effect, this wouldn't happen.

Clowns and street performers ride reverse-handlebar bicycles. It takes months of training to learn this: after all, you need to completely forget how to ride a regular bicycle. It's amazing how our brain works!

What about the gyroscope effect I mentioned above? Does it help at least a little? Not unless you go very fast.

There is a famous experiment that supposedly proves the effect of this effect on a bicycle wheel, but calculations show that its strength is far from being enough to keep you upright while riding.

To prove that the gyroscope effect is not important, I built a bicycle with a second front wheel rotating in the opposite direction. This idea is not new: David Jones made the same device in 1970. We both came up with the same idea.

In a nutshell, a reverse-spinning wheel eliminates the gyroscope effect on the front wheel and proves that the only thing keeping you from falling is actually your brain.

This is also a fun experiment that anyone can do.

So what is the best way to learn to ride a bike? You know, I don’t like it when children learn to ride with small training wheels on their sides: every time they touch the ground, they lose the skill of maintaining balance.

Your brain needs to learn to course-correct, so take off the training wheels - and the more you wobble, the better.

The ability to ride a bike is really only in your head.

If you ask the question “why doesn’t the bike fall?” everyone in a row, then most likely will not be able to answer it. They'll just shrug their shoulders. A minority of people who consider themselves technically literate will answer that this is probably due to the gyroscope effect. And they will probably be surprised to learn that the gyroscope has nothing to do with this, this was shown by an experiment in which this effect was neutralized, and the bicycle continued to move. And only a small minority will answer correctly. So why don't cyclists fall?

The bicycle does not fall due to centrifugal force

To maintain the balance of any body, it is necessary that the perpendicular lowered from its center of gravity does not extend beyond the area of ​​support. The smaller the latter, the less stable the situation.

The bicycle support area is extremely small - in fact, it is a straight line drawn between the points where the wheels touch the ground. Therefore, a bicycle (with or without a cyclist) cannot stand while in a stationary position. But when moving, stability miraculously returns to it. Why is this happening?

It's all about the centrifugal force that occurs when steering. If a moving bicycle begins to lean in any direction, the cyclist slightly turns the handlebars in the direction of the lean, causing the machine to turn. In this case, a centrifugal force appears, directed in the direction opposite to the tilt. This is what returns the bike to an upright position. A two-wheeled bicycle cannot travel strictly in a straight line. If his steering wheel is fixed in a stationary position, he will definitely fall, because the possibility of steering is eliminated.

This process - deviation from the vertical and return to it - occurs continuously. The cyclist doesn’t even think about what’s happening. His hands automatically perform the steering, which is necessary to maintain a vertical position. By the way, learning to ride a bicycle is precisely the acquisition of automatic steering.

Bike design and balance

The design of the steering column and front fork of the bicycle makes it easier to automatically maintain balance. The axis of the steering column (front fork) is not vertical, but inclined to the ground. The point where it intersects with the ground is located in front of the place where the front wheel comes into contact with the road. This arrangement ensures that if the front wheel accidentally deviates from the average position, a moment of reactive forces immediately arises, which returns it to its place.

When the bicycle is tilted, the reaction of the front wheel support, which is applied at the point of contact with the ground and directed upward, automatically turns the wheel in the direction of the tilt. Centrifugal force arises and the bicycle returns to a vertical position.

To better understand this process, you just need to consider that the pattern of forces acting on the front wheel of a bicycle is approximately the same as that of carts with rotating wheels. Whichever way you push the cart, the wheels automatically turn in the right direction. By the way, it is precisely this design feature of the bicycle that makes it possible to ride without holding the handlebars with your hands. The bicycle maintains its balance on its own. And to perform a turn, it is enough to shift the center of gravity of your body to the side.

The degree to which a particular bicycle can maintain dynamic balance is determined by the design of its headset and fork. The main parameter here is the distance from the point of contact of the front wheel with the ground to the point of intersection of the axis of the steering column (front fork) with the ground. As already mentioned, the latter is ahead of the former. The greater the distance, the higher the reaction torque acting on the wheel when turning it. For optimal dynamic characteristics of a bicycle, it is not the largest, but a strictly defined reaction torque that is required. Too small will reduce automatic balance maintenance, too large will result in shimmy. Therefore, the tilt of the steering column axis and the parameters of the front fork are chosen very carefully when designing a bicycle.

What is "shimmy"

At high speeds (above 30 km/h), the front wheel of the bicycle may begin to spontaneously wobble left and right. This phenomenon, which, by the way, also occurs in aviation, is called “speed wobbles” or “shimmies.” The reason for this is not a malfunction of the bicycle (poor assembly or loose fastenings), but because resonance of the front wheel occurs. “Shimmy” is very dangerous when the cyclist rides “without hands,” that is, without holding the handlebars. To extinguish the resulting resonance, you need to slow down or change your posture.

Bicycle - more energy efficient

In terms of energy consumption per unit of distance covered, a bicycle is more efficient not only than walking, but also driving a car. When a bicycle moves at a speed of 30 km/h, 15 kcal are spent per 1 km. Walking at a speed of 5 km/h burns 60 kcal per 1 km. That is, in terms of energy consumption per unit distance, cycling is 4 times more efficient than walking.

...and more functional

If we consider cycling from the point of view of sports activity, then it also turns out to be preferable to walking. Cycling consumes 450 kcal per hour, while walking only consumes 300 kcal. Of course, physical activity can be increased by switching from walking to running. But in this case, the load on the knees and ankle joints increases, which is undesirable, since over time it can lead to injury to these problem areas.

When women are faster

A trained man, even without being a professional athlete, can develop a power of 250 W or 0.33 hp for a long time. With. When cycling on a flat road, this corresponds to approximately 30 km/h. Women cannot develop as much power as men, but per unit of weight their energy levels are superior to men's. When driving on a flat road, when all the power is spent mainly on overcoming air resistance, women drive slower than men. But when driving uphill, when energy is spent overcoming gravity, they are able to drive faster than the stronger half.

It is believed that two mechanisms play a critical role in maintaining the balance of a bicycle. The first is automatic steering: if the bike leans in one direction, the front wheel automatically turns in the same direction; the entire bicycle begins to turn, and the centrifugal force returns the wheel to its original position. It also returns when driving in a straight line, after an accidental deviation to the side. Such steering is associated with the design of the front fork, the axis of rotation of the steering wheel: if you mentally continue it down, it will intersect with the surface of the earth before the point at which the wheel itself touches it - an angle (caster) appears between them, which has a stabilizing effect and when directed in side of forces, the wheel tends to return to its original position. The second mechanism is associated with the gyroscopic moment of the rotating wheels.

Everything is quite simple - however, American engineer Andy Ruina and his colleagues set out to refute both statements. They designed a bicycle in which the effects of both mechanisms are neutralized. Unlike all “real” bicycles, this one has the front wheel touching the support before the point where the front fork axis intersects it, which “cancels” the action of the castor. And in addition, both the front and rear wheels are connected to two others, rotating in the opposite direction and thereby nullifying the gyroscopic effect.

Of course, outwardly this whole machine is more reminiscent of some kind of custom bike (read about them: “Slowly”) or even a scooter, rather than a traditional bicycle: the wheels are small, there is no saddle... But nevertheless, structurally it’s still , a bike you can experiment with. Take it and push it - and see how quickly it falls on its side! Surprisingly, not so fast; in fact, it maintains balance no worse than a regular bicycle, it even demonstrates the same automatic steering.

Based on the results of the experiment, the authors draw an unambiguous conclusion: both effects - the castor and the gyroscope - play an important role in maintaining the balance of a riding bicycle, but both of them are not critical for it. Note that bicycle designs without a gyroscopic moment have already been tested previously, but the refutation of the most important role of castor in maintaining the balance of the bicycle has been done for the first time, and very clearly.

So why doesn't the bike fall? Apparently, the special load distribution plays a key role in this: the center of mass in the front part is located significantly lower than in the rear. As a result, the front wheel falls faster than the rear, and since they are rigidly connected along the vertical axis, the front wheel, instead of simply tilting to one side, turns in the same direction, straightening the position of the bicycle.

The bicycle is becoming a fashionable phenomenon. More and more people dream of taking up cycling, discussing which bikes are better, which are worse, which brakes are slower. The Internet is full of information on how to make the right choice. However, for some reason no one writes why you shouldn’t take up cycling. Why do many new bike owners most often keep their bike in the garage or on the loggia? I will try to fill this information gap, especially since people ask me the question “about a bicycle” quite often.

The purpose of the article is to prepare a beginner for possible problems that he does not even imagine when deciding to buy a bicycle.

I would like to note right away that this article is more of a joke, not all of the reasons listed will be relevant to you personally, we all live in different cities and in different conditions, but, as they say, there is a grain of humor in every joke. So let's get started:

1) The problem of choosing a bike- Let's start with the fact that the first troubles await you in the store where you come to buy a bicycle. It used to be that the Soviet government was worried about the healthy psyche of its citizens and 1-2 products were produced for each task. You need a big and durable bike - here's the Ural. Need a folding one for the city - Kama. Now the eyes widen and a panic of choice sets in. And after the purchase - psychological trauma, or maybe it was worth adding another 40 bucks and buying a little more expensive? What if the purchased one has less speed than the neighbor? But, as in the case of a camera, the brand of a bicycle and its equipment subsequently play no role for 99% of buyers, if assessed from the point of view of kilometers traveled and the result obtained in the form of gained or lost (depending on your luck) health.

2) Storage problem- a bicycle takes up quite a lot of space and storing it in an apartment is inconvenient (only windsurfing is more inconvenient). A bicycle has a lot of protruding things, and the most uncomfortable ones are not the steering wheel, but the pedals. After removing the front wheel, the steering wheel easily turns in any desired direction, but the pedals will catch everything in their path while you drag the bike from the balcony to the landing. And then push it into the elevator to the delight of the neighbors, staining the walls.

3) The problem of ski areas- will stand up immediately as soon as you pull the bike out of the entrance. At first, it will be enough for you to drive a couple of kilometers to put a mark - you have ridden, you have received a boost of energy. Once you get into shape, you will need to ride 15-20 km at a time. Don’t be surprised, do the math yourself - a person walks 5 km in 1 hour, so on a bicycle you should cover at least 2-3 times more in the same hour. Let's count back and forth, it turns out 7-10 km in one direction. Look out the window, do you know where to go?

So, let's go.

No matter where you go, sooner or later you will have to get onto the roads.

4) Moral injury from passing KamAZ trucks, buses and other drivers you are guaranteed. There is a certain category who consider it their personal duty to ride as close to the cyclist as possible. At least at first, until psychological stability was developed.

5) In addition to moral injury you will have to breathe in the exhaust from vehicles, unless of course you live in Astana, where the wind successfully fights this problem.

6) If you risk driving on the sidewalk, you will get moral injury from dealing with pedestrians(in this case, well-deserved). In general, on the sidewalk it is safer for you, but worse for others; on the road it’s the other way around. But bicycle paths are still rare in our open spaces.

7) Next moral injury will be received immediately as soon as you see one of the experienced cyclists. For the female half, this moral injury may be incompatible with cycling life and it concerns specialized sportswear. This attribute is important not only from an aesthetic point of view. A properly equipped cyclist earns more respect from other road users, which greatly improves your safety. Not to mention the fact that the right equipment makes skiing more convenient and enjoyable in some places.

8) Let's move from moral to physical injuries. Once you start riding, you will catch up sooner or later (see). In the end you will get numerous bruises and abrasions. Particularly unlucky are bumps and fractures. Completely sick in the head - TBI. Moreover, physical injuries are not always your fault. It could be a car door suddenly opening, or a cat running across the road.

But even if you don't fall, you'll still skin your feet on the bike pedals.

9) And if, according to the previous points, the strong half of humanity can object, saying that scars adorn a man, then dirt definitely doesn't decorate anyone. If there were puddles, if it was raining, just damp ground, or if there was a herd of cows in front of you - in the absence of a rear wing (usually), the pattern of dirt on your back will tell a trained viewer a lot.

It was a fun ride along the old Austrian road.

If you are lucky and the puddles are particularly deep and the rain is heavy, then dirt will be added to your façade, and your face will be no exception. Unless of course you have a front fender, which you definitely don't.

10) Looking ahead a little, if you rolled in the mud, a person will stand in front of you bike washing problem. A bicycle is not a machine; it contains a lot of small parts and is difficult to wash on your own. You can't put it in the bathtub. You can't rinse at the entrance. But car washes get down to business and can help in this matter, sometimes even for free. I usually pay off with a short lecture about my bike.

11) Therefore, we will try to drive in dry weather. The decision is correct. Because dirt is not easy to find in dry weather. But midges - without any problems. Usually people ride in the evening, because during the day it’s hot and everyone is working. At the same time midge appears, which will fly into your lungs (you’re not a freeloader, so you work at your maximum) and into your eyes. Therefore, you need transparent or very light glasses - let me remind you, we ride in the evening. Well, you will have to keep your mouth closed in the evenings.

12) Let's move on to technical problems. When setting off on a journey, you should always have a plan B in stock - in case your bike breaks down, a flat tire, or in general, everything doesn’t go as planned. If your hands do not grow from exactly the right place (for example, you do not know how to repair a camera in the field) need a technical car, and one that your bike will definitely fit into.

13) A man on a two-wheeled machine attracts attention from four-legged friends. And although in my experience I have never met a cyclist with bitten legs, a meeting with a pack of dogs guarding some industrial base promises a lot of unpleasant emotions. You can drive with a traumatizer, but it’s not a fact that you will have enough time to get it.

14) But even more dangerous is staring attention from two-legged friends. Especially if you are a woman. Here the traumatist may be even more relevant than in the case of dogs. If you look at several reasons above, I will note from experience that professional equipment on a cyclist significantly reduces the desire of two-legged people to communicate with you, ask for a ride or discuss which brakes are better.

So, we will assume that you have arrived home. It was the beginning of the season and this was your very first long ride in your life. Welcome to a world of bright and unforgettable impressions. Depending on whether you engage in other sports and how often, the sensations will vary to one degree or another, but, from my own experience and the experience of friends, they are guaranteed to be there.

15) At first you will have pain:
- legs, because you pedaled with them. Depending on how you twisted it, different parts of your legs will hurt;
- hands, elbows and shoulders, because strangely enough, the arms also bear part of the load. And the lower the steering wheel is located (the less air resistance), the more the upper limbs and everything connected with them will hurt.
- knees, if the bike is incorrectly adjusted/selected;
- neck, if the steering wheel is tilted very low, and in order to see the road, you have to lift your head;
- in sunny weather your arms, legs, neck, face, ears will burn;
- on occasion, you will be bitten by mosquitoes in the same places, which at the same time will burn you;
- in addition, you will erase your delicate office palms on hard bicycle handles;
- and the most delightful sensations for beginners appear where the legs meet and connect with the place from which they grow. Jumping on a hard bike seat for an hour will leave an indelible impression. Once again, my advice is to buy professional uniforms and put special softening pads on the saddle. It won’t save you, but it will slightly smooth out the consequences.
16) And in the end, after all this torment, your thigh and/or buttocks will suddenly increase in size and if you are a girl - I'll have to rethink my entire wardrobe.

I have not described all the negative aspects that await you if you suddenly decide to ride a bicycle. For this reason, for example, lately I prefer running to cycling as a regular cardio exercise. I only take a bike for targeted trips into nature.

Entry-level bicycles are equipped with the transmission of the cheapest groups, and when the gears start to shift poorly and stick, the owners just shrug their shoulders - what can you get from cheap junk.

A big surprise comes to those who buy a much more expensive bike, and after a while they again encounter shifting problems. The point here, of course, is not a matter of karma, but a wrong attitude towards technology.

I am in no way saying that there is no difference between entry-level and top-end components. Of course, an experienced cyclist with his eyes closed will distinguish the Shimano Alivio from the XTR in three clicks.

Reasons for unclear operation of gear shifters

Cables and shirts. This is the most common problem, especially among beginner cyclists. I'm just amazed at the terrible state they are in for some cyclists.

Inspect the sections of the cables that are not hidden by the shirt, click the shifter to expose the hidden part. There should be no rips or loose threads. If such defects are present, then throw away both the cables and the shirts immediately, and go to the store for new ones.

There must be an aluminum cap at the end of the cable to prevent it from fraying. Using pliers, you can carefully remove it and unscrew the bolt securing the cable to the rear derailleur.

Release the shirt from the stops by carefully removing it from the cable. The cable itself can be left in its socket in the shifter. When it is completely exposed, inspect again for any loose threads or abrasions. Spray a rag with WD40 and wipe it thoroughly.

Shirts, if they are in order, can also be used a second time. Fill them with more WD40 and carefully poke them with a cable. The task is to expel all the dirt that has accumulated during the riding period.

Here I ask you to take into account one thing - the cables and jackets do not need lubrication. Under no circumstances should you lubricate them with thick lubricants, such as grease. After just a few trips on the ground, your shirts will have a consistency consisting mainly of dirt.

If you need to calm your soul, then spray with Teflon spray, it will dry quickly, but will leave a thin sliding layer. Which, however, will be erased after a dozen switches. 🙂

One more thing. There are Teflon-coated cables, for example, Shimano XTR Cable, which cost quite a lot of money. During the times of fetishism, these were the only ones I used; due to the sliding coating, the force on the shifter is a little less.

Unfortunately, after about a year of active skating, the Teflon in the friction areas is completely erased. However, these cables have a very big advantage - they come with stop spouts that effectively protect against dirt.

Returning to the shirts, make sure that there are no too long or, conversely, short sections anywhere, because of this, there will be increased friction in the bending areas, and sooner or later dirt will accumulate there.

Bent rooster. If you don’t know what this part is, you can read a note about it here. Sometimes it happens that a seemingly ideally tuned rear derailleur does not work clearly, despite fresh cables and shirts.

The reason may be that during transportation the bike got caught somewhere and the cock was slightly bent. If you cannot achieve a clear gear shift, then remove the cock and place it on the table.

If it is a little crooked, then you need to bend it. Do not overdo it, aluminum may develop microcracks. I won’t advise you on how exactly to bend it. I do this in a makeshift way - I put it on the bike and pull it with my hands. Ideally, you need to edit with a special machine that takes into account even the asymmetry of the dropouts.

Rear derailleur play. Move the rear derailleur towards you and away from you, staying where the cable enters. Ideally, there should be no play at all, but a small free play is nothing criminal, especially in the initial groups of the transmission.

During operation, this backlash tends to increase, and then switching delays, blurriness, etc. begin. If everything is in order with the cables and the cock, then with fine tuning you can overcome the negative effect of the backlash.

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Most often, the reason that the bike shifts poorly is a combination of problems. Dirt in the shirts, a slightly bent cock, a slight play in the switch, poor tuning - all the tolerances add up.

Moreover, many skaters ride like this and find it normal when the speeds are switched according to the principle of three forward, two back. Guys, this is not normal!

Any transmission, even the lowest Shimano Tourney, must work smoothly. Don’t get used to the bad, otherwise even if you buy an expensive bike, in a season or two you’ll get the same thing.

Buy cables, switches and other components at the best price you can in the best online bike shops