Physics of Cycling :: physics sport sports cycle bicycle

Almost the entire spot of cycling is based on physics. Some aspects atomic number 18 obvious, like torque and new(prenominal) basic wedges, although others do not come to mind as easily. Things like aerodynamics are playing an increasingly bigger role in the sport, along with other things like damped harmonic motion (think mountain bike suspension), and efficiency. A hole of the detailed things would be beyond this paper, but the basics, which are the most write parts, will be talked ab off.Torque is what makes the cycles/seconds on the bike go round. salient research has been but into the sport in order to figure out how to increase the torque applied by the passenger to the rear wheel, foxiness decreasing the torque required to make the wheel turn. Torque is produced the rider using a device called a crank.The torque in the serial of parts that drive the bicycle forward (called the drive train) is dependant on the size of the chain ring (the elephantine geartrains mounted on the crank) macrocosm used, and the size of the rear cog being used. When the chain is on the littler chain ring, the force through the chain must be great because the chain ring is closer to the axis of rotation and must hope a larger force to equal the torque produced by the pedals.Likewise, if a larger cog is used in back on the wheel, an larger torque is exerted on the wheel, and so produces a larger forward force at the tire. These higer-torque gears are good for climbing, where large forward forces are drive at low speeds, but for flats and downhills, different pitch is needed, because the lower gearing does not provide much forward rotation (the rear wheel will not rotate as much for a individual(a) stroke of the pedal). Detail of the drive train on a bicycle. The smaller the gear on the crank combined with a large gear on the wheel will produce large numbers of torque and large forward forces.Work and PowerAlthough torque does have a toilet to do with the bike an d how it works, professionals and people in the know dont usually distinguish to torque the rider applies to the wheels. Usually, theyll talk about power. This makes much more sense, because cycling, in general, is a sport that requires you exert yourself for a relatively long amount of time, instead of just trying to exert the largest force you can (this isnt free weight lifting).