ELI5, How am I able to go farther and faster on my bicycle than by walking, considering I have to move the mass of the bike, as well as the loss of energy to friction from the gears and wheels?
In: 68
Assuming you have a hard, smooth and flat surface – *it will preserve your momentum.* By taking a bike away from those conditions then it may be less efficient.
The hard and smooth part is important. If you take something like a road bike and try to ride through sand, snow, very rough terrain, etc… it will have much more energy loss from sinking into the ground, pushing material away, or just bumping into things. This is often less efficient than walking not even due to the weight, but sort of analogous to “dragging your feet”.
However, there are plenty of specialized bikes to handle many obstacles. The biggest advantages for various terrains will be really big tires to reduce sinking into soft stuff and suspension to absorb bumps (big and small). This will significantly add to the extra weight and energy required to use the bike, *but it will preserve that energy in many more conditions.*
Assuming you’re not being bogged down somehow by the ground, the rolling friction is very small. You’ll actually be held back much more by air resistance. Combining that with the fact that you can coast with 0 spent energy downhill and use gears to best utilize your output and it really becomes quite efficient.
Latest Answers