A bicycle is a human powered vehicle that has a frame attached 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. Bicycles being the main method of carry in many corners of the earth, the bicycle is also majorly used for other recreational actions and for the purpose of fitness and even in the case of law enforcement activities such as petrolling an area.
History of Bicycles
Since the inception of the chain-driven model in around 1885, the primary pattern and the shape of a
typical bicycle has remained relatively unchanged. Nonetheless, the usage of modern material and pattern methods
such as computer-aided innovation has improved the many views of the bicycle. These methods have greatly aided the spawn of
specialized bicycles for particular purposes such as racing, utility and law enforcement uses. In addition, many of the parts that played a
major role in the development of automobiles for instance, ball bearings, pneumatic tires and spoke tensioned wheels were initially intended for
the bicycle.
Features of a Bicycle
When mentioning to bicycles, the dynamics of the bicycle should be seen first. A bicycle has to maintain its center of gravity over the wheels in order to stay upright or balanced.
Therefore, it achieves this by the moving forward using the steering which is normally provided by the rider
and sometimes even by the bicycle itself. Additionally, in order to navigate 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.
Bicycle can be classified as an extremely
competent machine looked at in both biological and mechanical view point. When
comparison the energy an individual must spend to travel a given distance, the bicycle is stated to be the most efficiently
working self power-driven method of transportation. Nearly, 99% of the energy is transferred to the wheels of the bicycle when a
rider exerts energy into the pedals. Nevertheless when gears mechanisms are used this figure may drop by 10-15%.A rider using a bicycle
experiences 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 importantly reduce the position to supine or prone that is in line with aerodynamics.
The main parts of the bicycle include the frame, steering mechanics, seating, drivetrain, suspension, wheels and brakes. Certain bicycles may include optional
mechanisms such as gearing which uses different sizes of gears to obtain a mechanical advantage from 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.
