Finally, a real practical computer model! What I've always found interesting, is that no one really knows how well a bike balances while it's in motion. It's not enough to point to the angular momentum of the two wheels to provide a stabilizing torque. One example of the anecdotal mystery of the balancing bike is the shimmy. Individual bikes, when going downhill, experience a harmonic resonance of shimmy, and no one really can predict on which bike it will happen. Some experiment by pushing the bike seat a bit further back, some adjust the handlebars a bit forward, some say just to tighten up the front wheel. But all mechanics say, when you start to feel it yourself, loosen your grip on the handlebar. Not sit up, not steer into it, but ease up. Why? We don't know, it just works. Because what really makes the bike stay upright, is the person pedaling, which has never totally been taken into account in physical models of the bike. We're still researching how a person stays upright while walking, much less running, so having a realistic model of people pedaling in the bicycle computer model will be the useful part of the simulation.
Interesting article, Joe. Ever ride a chopper?
ReplyDeleteMac: Nope, never ridden a motorcycle, except on the back of one for about a block when I was six years old. I was scared but excited. We went very slow...
ReplyDeleteMy last motorcycle was a chopper. Because the riders weight is less in relation to the machine, the tires are larger and less effected by surface irregularities, and the rider is not peddling, the effects of geometry changes are more apparent in the handling. That model should produce safer and better motorcycles as well as bikes. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteVirtual Cycling - Tacx have a great product called the Tacx Fortius, it is basically a turbo trainer connected to a PC so you can ride or race in a virtual environment.
ReplyDeleteGeoff