May 19, 2010

The Bicycle - a Life Long Partner

Filed under: Bikes + Bits, Information Folder — admin @ 11:59 am

Being one of the most basic human power-driven vehicles, the bicycle has two wheels attached to a vehicle that
is driven by a pedal. Bicycles were first introduced in the 19th century and it is claimed that presently there are approximately about
one billion bicycles worldwide, outnumbering autos 2 to 1. Bicycles being the main method of transport in many corners of the earth, the bicycle is also majorly used for other recreational activities and for the purpose of fitness and even in the case of law enforcement actions such as petrolling an area.

Bicycles and Its Story

Ever since the chain driven model was presented to the market, the basic
pattern of the bicycle had remained unchanged up to day. But, other advances such as using computers to pattern
and check the stability have been made to the bicycle from its inventing process. Some bicycles are especially
manufactured to adhee to standards of racing, cyclicling on mountains and even for law enforcement. In addition, many of the parts that played a
major role in the development of motorcars for instance, ball bearings, pneumatic tires and spoke tensioned wheels were initially intended for
the bicycle.

Things to Look in a Bicycle

When citing to bicycles, the dynamics of the bicycle should be seen first. Bicycle needs its centre of gravity in order to be in its space. So it accomplishes this by moving forward
using the steering which allows some balance to the rider. Additionally, in order to pilot successfully the body of the rider must balance out the dynamics,
especially at turns. A technique referred to as counter-steering is used to attain this task by directly turning the handlebars with the reaches
or indirectly leaning or slanting the bicycle.

Through both biological and mechanical view points, the bicycle is an extremely
economical machine. When
comparing the energy an individual must spend to travel a given distance, the bicycle is stated to be the most efficiently
working self supercharged method of transportation. Nearly, 99% of the energy is transmitted to the wheels of the bicycle when a
rider exerts energy into the pedals. However when gears mechanisms are used this figure may drop by 10-15%.A rider using a bicycle
feels air drag or the resistive force that is exerted by air. At higher speeds, importantly greater power outputs are needed to overcome the air drag. When a rider is sitting in an upright position, the
body of the rider accounts for nearly 75% of the full drag experienced by the bicycle and rider combined. Nonetheless, the exerted drag can be importantly
decreased by placing the rider in a supine or a prone position and by covering the bicycle with fairing that is aerodynamic.

The main
features of a bicycle are frame, steering mechanisms, seating, drivetrain, suspension, wheels and brakes. Certain bicycles may include optional
mechanisms such as gearing which uses unique sizes of gears to obtain a mechanical advantage from the bicycle. Using gears a rider can produce a higher power output with a relatively low
power input and thus, maximising the efficiency of the bicycle.

October 15, 2009

Electric Bikes: a Primer

Filed under: Bikes + Bits — admin @ 4:13 am

We all want to do more exercise but so many things stop us. You watch people packed into gyms working out, and think : I have to go to the gymnasium, pay for my gym member’s fee, then lift some weights. It just seems like too much hassle, isn’t there something I can do that’s not going to waste a lot of my time - something that’s even useful?

Then you may consider buying a push bike, as cycling is a wonderful way to improve one’s health . You can bike to work or to the shops, so it’s very useful. It’s also very cost -effective - there’s no gasoline involved and the running costs are negligable. It’s also eco-friendly. And not forgetting the minor detail of actually getting fit too.

Yet lots of people are unwilling to get a bicycle because it’s TOO much exercise. As bizarre as that sounds, consider that they may be elderly, suffer from particular ailments, be aged, or live in a very hilly location that make bicycling too much effort for their abilities. And for some people, it’s not realistic pedaling to work since they will sweat too much through the exertions of cycling.

This is where electric bikes come in. E-bikes give you a rest on the hard hills merely by turning your hand on the grip and allowing the electric motor take the strain - pedalling is no longer required then. Then when you’re ready to switch to manual, just let your legs take over. You get gentle exercise and fresh air without doing yourself in. E-bikes are also very cost-effective to run needing only a daily recharge if you do about 20 to 30 kilometres per day, although most people need just a couple of re-charges a week since they’re not doing this kind of distance. You can find a local supplier of ebikes by searching on the web.

Nowadays the actual cost of getting an e-bike have dropped in price, so you can find yourself saving a lot of money on fuel, bus fares, gym memberships etc. by purchasing and regularly using an electric bike.