![]() ![]() There is a well-known demonstration that seems to show how a bike wheel is really affected by the gyroscopic effect but if you do the sums you can show that the effect is nowhere near strong enough to hold you up when you’re riding a bike. It’s amazing how the brain works.īut what about the gyroscopic effect I referred to earlier? Surely it helps a bit? Well, no it doesn’t … unless you’re going pretty fast. It takes months of practice to learn how to ride a bike like this, and it’s all about unlearning how to ride a normal bike. You will not even be able to get started, and if you switch hands while you’re riding, be warned, you will fall off instantaneously – something that wouldn’t happen if it were the gyroscopic effect keeping you upright.Ĭlowns and street performers ride bikes with reverse-geared steering. Try crossing your hands over, for example. That’s because keeping a bike upright is largely to do with you and your brain – something that’s easy to prove. The distance between these two points is called “the trail”. Most important is the fact that the steering column (the “head tube”) is tilted so that the front wheel makes contact with the ground at a point that lies behind where the steering axis intersects with the ground. There are some really clever bits in bicycle design to make riding a bike easier, too. Nevertheless, these little wobbles are all part of the process and explain why walking – or riding – on a dead straight line is so hard because you can’t make those essential little side-to-side corrections. It is more obvious among beginners (mostly children) who wobble around quite a lot, but it may be almost imperceptible in an expert cyclist. Then, without thinking, you steer back again to stay on the path. If you are falling to the right, then you subconsciously steer a bit to the right so that your wheels move underneath you. When riding, you’re always making tiny corrections. What your brain has learned to do is to make a little correction every time you take off so that if, say, you’re falling to the right, then you’ll hop a bit to the left with the next step. But now try hopping from one foot to the other. The team explained that when the gyroscopes are fully weighted, it’ll take 5,000 pounds of force to push the bike over: “That’s like a rhino or small elephant!” Check it out in the West Lot.Now attempt this little experiment: stand on the ball of one foot, using your arms to balance. ![]() The gyros swings on gimbals in response to attitude changes, immediately rebalancing the bike in response to your touch. It’s amazing to feel the bike shove back. They spun up the gyros on the prototype and CTO Kevin Bretney let me give it a shove. They promise their futurebike “will employ H2V, H2C, V2I, and V2V connectivity” so it can automatically respond to traffic, road condition, and weather data.īut the self-balancing technology is where the excitement is. At Maker Faire they’re showing off a prototype electric bike that’s stabilized by a gyroscope, as well as a beautiful concept bike with a fully enclosed cockpit called the C-1. The team at Lit Motors envisions a world where nobody’s afraid to ride motorcycles because they’re as safe and intuitive as climbing into a car. Here’s a potential game-changer: a two-wheeled, in-line motorcycle that won’t tip over, even if you try to knock it down. Subscribe to the premier DIY magazine todayĬommunity access, print, and digital Magazine, and moreĭaily Projects to Inspire the Joy of Makingĭeals and Steals for the Maker on Your Nice List Skill builder, project tutorials, and more On Maker Campus facilitated by makers but for everyone Get hands-on with kits, books, and more from the Maker Shed
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