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Cycling Bio-Mechanics
n

Basic Terminology (fill in the details as a class)

Work Energy

Power
Force

Torque

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Things Ive always wondered about

1. Why do we shift gears on a bicycle? 2. What determines how fast our bike goes for a given power input? 3. Are toeclips worth the trouble?

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Newtons Second Law

= ma = m dv/dt F
F4 m
a C.G.

F1

A Rigid Body

F2

F3

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External Forces acting on Bike

RIDER WEIGHT WIND RESISTANCE HANDLEBAR FORCE

BIKE WEIGHT

PEDAL FORCE

GROUND REACTION FORCES

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Force Transmission
L3

F3=F2

F2
L2

F1

L4 L1

Purpose of bike transmission is to convert the high force, low velocity at the pedal to a higher velocity (and necessarily lower force) at the wheel. The power at pedal (F1 x V1) equals the power at the wheel (F4 x V4) (assuming no friction losses)

F4

F4 = F1 x ?

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Pedal Forces
A clock diagram showing the total foot force for a group of elite pursuit riders using toe clips, at 100 rpm and 400 W. Note the orientation of the force vector during the first half of the revolution and the absence of pull-up forces in the second (ref 3, pg 105) half.

used by permission of Human Kinetics Books, 1986, all rights reserved

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Pedal Force Components

Fr = Total Foot Force

CRANK

Fe=Effective Force (causes useful Torque)

PEDAL

The total foot force can be resolved into vector components

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Effective Pedal Force

EFFECTIVE FORCE RESULTANT FORCE UNUSED FORCE NEGATIVE EFFECTIVE FORCE

FORCE (N)

180

360
(ref 3, pg 106)

CRANK ANGLE (Degrees)

used by permission of Human Kinetics Books, 1986, all rights reserved

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Horizontal Force between Rear Wheel and Road

A plot of the horizontal force between the rear wheel and the road, due to each leg. The total force is shown as the bold solid line. Note that this force is not constant, due to the fact that the force applied at the pedal is only partly effective. (ref 3, pg 107)
used by permission of Human Kinetics Books, 1986, all rights reserved

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Pedal Speed
Optimum speed for most people is 55-85 rpm. This yields the most useful power output for a given caloric usage (ref 3, pg 79)

MOST EFFICIENT PEDALLING SPEED

used by permission of Human Kinetics Books, 1986, all rights reserved

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Human Power Output

n

n n

Most adults can deliver .1 HP (75 watts) continuously while pedaling which results in a typical speed of 12 mph Well-trained cyclists can produce .25 to.40 HP continuously resulting in 20 to 24 mph World champion cyclists can produce almost .6 HP (450 watts) for periods of one hour or more resulting in 27 to 30 mph Why do the champion cyclists only go about twice as fast if they can produce nearly 6 times as much power?
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Human Power Output

The maximum power output that can be sustained for various time durations for champion cyclists. Average power output over long distances is less than 400 W.
used by permission of Human Kinetics Books, 1986, all rights reserved

(ref 3. pg 112) page 12 of 18

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The Forces Working Against Us

Drag Force due to air resistance: Fdrag =CdragV2 A
Cdrag = drag coefficient (a function of the shape of the body and the density of the fluid) A = frontal area of body V = velocity

and since: Power = Force x Velocity This means that, to double your speed requires 8 times as much power just to overcome air drag (since power ~ velocity3)

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Some Empirical Data

Drag force on a cycle versus speed showing the effect of rider position. The wind tunnel measurements are less than the coast-down data because the wheels were stationary and rolling resistance was absent. (ref 3, pg 126)

used by permission of Human Kinetics Books, 1986, all rights reserved

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Forces - continued
n

Rolling Resistance Frr=Crr x Weight

typical values for Crr: knobby tires .014 road racing tires .004

Mechanical Friction (bearings, gear train)

absorbs typically only 3-5% of power input if well maintained

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Other Energy Absorbers

n

Hills (energy storage or potential energy)

Change in Potential Energy = Weight x Change in elevation (Dh)

Dh

Here, the rider has stored up energy equal to the combined weight of rider and bike times the vertical distance climbed.

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The First Law of Thermodynamics

n

Conservation of Energy, for any system:

Energyin = Energyout +Change in Stored Energy

Energy input

Internal Energy of System Energy Output SYSTEM

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Now Put it All Together:

Velocity = f [ power input (pedal rpm, pedal force), road slope, rider weight, bike weight, frontal area, rider position, gear ratio, tire type and inflation, maintenance ...] Your task: (as homework, due in one week, use computer (spreadsheet program like EXCEL) for analysis and presentation of results) 1. Using first law of thermodynamics, derive the relation between the relevant factors to calculate V (bike velocity). Clearly state all assumptions. 2. Generate a graph relating speed to hill grade (from 0% to 20%) for riders weighing 120, 140, 160, 180 and 200 pounds who are exerting a continuous power of 0.1 HP. 3. Determine the terminal velocity of the 160 lb rider coasting going down a 10% grade.
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