How does the apparently small amount of material which comprises the spokes provide the required sturdiness to handle the physics of a human on a bike?
In: 136
Actually, let me address it another way-
Inline bikes are fundamentally different that 4-wheeled vehicles in that they handle VERY low side forces. When you lean into a turn, the force vector mostly follows the lean.
BMX bikes are different, though- people like to do tricks where they land hard at an angle and orient their body to provide torque on the handlebars and pedals to offset the impact. That produces large side loads, and the lighter spoked wheels start to fail.
4 wheeled vehicles’ wheels, however, do not “lean into” the curve. There is much more side load potential that lighter wheels cannot tolerate. Bonus, though- motorcycle and bike wheels must be round-bottomed so the contact patch can shift around. 4 wheel vehicle tires are flat-bottomed because they don’t have to lean. Flat bottom gives a much larger contact patch and much better traction in general.
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