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
Walking loses a lot of energy. When you step forward, you first apply force to lift your leg, then move it in front of you, then fall forward a tiny bit, then use energy to stop yourself from falling, then push yourself up slightly. You do this repeatedly, and this allows you to move in a particular direction. When you catch yourself, you also lose most of your speed.
This is considered normal.
Biking reduces this energy loss.
* Instead of lifting your leg, you rest your leg on the pedal and let the bike do the work.
* Instead of pushing yourself up, you push the pedal down. This seems like a “no change” situation, however there’s a trick here worth considering. Instead of using that energy to keep yourself standing up, you’re using the energy to send yourself forward.
* Instead of having to stop to catch yourself, you just… don’t. Most of the speed you already picked up is still there, allowing you to add speed with each step instead of having to regenerate it.
Because you’re saving energy at most steps, you can use more of that energy to produce speed, and move faster than you would otherwise.
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