ASSESSMENT OF BICYCLE PHYSICS AND MECHANICS AND THEIR USAGE WITHIN A CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

S EAN R OBINSON
Abstract This paper will consider the relationships between the component parts of a bicycle and how their relationships with other parts come together to form a whole object. When considering these parts, certain physics and mechanics need to be understood and applied so that the object is appropriately functional. By understanding how these rules are applied and how they affect the bicycle, it is possible to map the functionality to a computer simulation. This paper will not concern itself with the mechanics of each and every part as the outcome is simply to provide a higher level of understanding for the machine as a whole and to demonstrate limited rules that should be considered in order to generate a realistic model. Bicycles are complex machines in the real world, they are made up of many components that work in unison with each other in order to provide a functional machine. These components also form compounds with each other, with many parts being components in several compounds, these compounds then form other compounds and so on. Each part in a bicycle will have relationships to the surrounding parts; these relationships specify how the bicycle reacts. Some relationships simply specify that parts must be connected and must maintain a locked relationship, such as the separate pipes that form the frame. Other parts need a certain degree of movement but must maintain a locked relationship with other components. The wheel is a good example of this. A wheel must have a certain degree of movement for rotation when the bicycle is in motion or turning, but must also maintain a stable relationship with the brakes, shock absorbers and with certain parts of the frame across some axis. Each of these rules that specify motion of some kind must have constraints applied that limit the motion, but also criteria that initialise that motion and outcomes of that motion should be specified. Maintaining the wheel example, it is understood that turning the pedals will create a chain of effects that will result in the wheel being turned. The wheel must turn at an appropriate rate to the pedal speed, but will also be affected by other factors such as the terrain type, degree of incline and whether brakes are applied. The outcome of this will be a force propelling the wheels that has been modified by the other external factors; this will then be used to move the bicycle to a new position.

CONTENTS
1. 2. 3. a. b. c. d. E. 4. a. b. c. Introduction .................................................. 1 Bicycle parts .................................................. 2 Component Physics ....................................... 2 Steering..................................................... 2 Pedalling ................................................... 3 Suspension ................................................ 3 Braking ...................................................... 4 Trail ........................................................... 4 General physics ............................................. 4 Gravity ...................................................... 4 Friction ...................................................... 4 Air Resistance ........................................... 5

Bibliography ........................................................... 5

1. INTRODUCTION

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This is simply one example of how the mechanics and physics of a bicycle affect how it behaves in the real world. There are many behaviours, such as this, to model in order to build a truly accurate, virtual representation. This paper will document those behaviours which are considered critical in order to develop an appropriate level of detail for a basic simulation.

All of these parts can be considered a single object for the purposes of steering the machine. In order to accurately model even a basic simulation, the degree of turning must be considered.

3. COMPONENT PHYSICS
a. STEERING
When considering the steering of a bicycle, there are two main areas of focus. The initial calculation is that of the turning radius, this is the degree of rotation that the bicycle will take following a user moving the steering column. For a bicycle in an upright position, the radius of a turn can be calculated by the function (1):

2. BICYCLE PARTS
The virtual bicycle will be decomposed to an appropriate level so that each part owns a specific, critical constraint for the machine. These parts may not simply be components in a real bicycle, but will be treated as a base level component in the simulation. The most critical example of this is the front section of the bicycle shown below.

Here, w is the wheelbase of the object (The distance between the centres of the wheels along the x axis), is the steering angle and

represents the caster angle (The angle from which the forks or shock absorbers are displaced from the perpendicular). When bicycles turn, a new type of motion becomes apparent, this is the lean (or Yaw). The lean of the machine is calculated using

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the laws of circular motion and is calculated from the following equation (2).

of events by piping equations in order to generate a final value that is used to calculate forward movement. The overall force used to propel the bicycle is a function of its current speed and pedalling power output (4).

Here, v is the speed of the bicycle, r is the radius of the turn and g equals the constant acceleration due to gravity, 9.82.
Once lean is taken under consideration, the previous equation to calculate the turn radius becomes invalid, it must now be updated to correctly represent how lean factors into the mathematics (3).

Where Fr is the resultant force, Pp is the power output and S is the current speed of the bicycle in km/h. The Pp wattage is different for every circumstance and person, but for simplicity, Coggan suggests an average of 50 100w and provides spread sheets that can be used to calculate wattage per kilogram (5). This can then be used in Newtons second law to calculate the acceleration (6).

This equation is very similar to the one presented above, but uses another value, to represent the lean angle. To add further complexity, the lean angle previous computed is not a complete solution. When calculating the actual lean, other criteria such as tyre thickness and centre of mass must be considered. The equation above is altered only to add another value, this is the amount that the lean must be increased due to these factors. The increase in lean is given by (3):

Even with the acceleration calculated, external factors such as wind resistance and friction must be applied in order to give a complete solution.

c. SUSPENSION
Suspension within a bicycle can be a very complicated matter as there are an enormous amount of variables to consider when modelling it. There are also a wide variety of types, most of these fall into either rigid (No suspension), Hardtail (Only front suspension) or Full Suspension (7). In a very basic system, it should only be the concern to model the suspension values based on an average normal load and then modify this value based on environmental factors. A suspension value of 25 33% of maximum travel with a maximum travel of 150mm is one set of values set for modern trail bicycles (7). In order to keep a model within the realm of feasibility, this value could be used as a starting point for calculations, it can then be modified using a

Where h is the height of the centre of mass for the object and t is the thickness of the tyres being used. By adding this result to the previously calculated lean value, and then applying this outcome to the turn modified turning radius function, the actual angle that the bicycle will rotate due to steering will be solved.

b. PEDALLING
Pedalling a bicycle is usually quite a complex matter as it involves linking together a series

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function of the current gradient. While this is not strictly accurate, the study of suspension in detail is beyond the scope of this paper, more information can be obtained from rdrop.com (8) or everythingbicycling.co.za (7).

d. BRAKING
Braking on a bicycle occurs when the brake pads are pressed against the wheel in order to create friction. There are several factors to consider when defining brake power, which affects the deceleration. In addition to the friction between the tyres and the surface, which is discussed later in the paper, the kinetic friction between the brake and tyre and the potential for pitching must be considered. Whitt, F gives the maximum, safe deceleration concerning these factors as 0.5g (9). Using this as a maximum safe value, a basic simulation could take a factor of this as defined by the percentage of brake power applied and result in a deceleration value that can be applied to the machine.

Here, is the wheel radius, is the head angle and is the fork offset, sometimes known as rake.

4. GENERAL PHYSICS
a. GRAVITY
In a complex model, bicycles will not simply to moving along a perfectly flat terrain, there will be minor bumps and long hills. In order to accurately model the way in which the slops affects a rider in this conditions, gravity is calculated. The function to calculate the power needed to overcome gravity is (11):

E. TRAIL
Trail is the distance between the line perpendicular to the floor from the centre of the front wheel to the point on the ground that continues the line following the head angle. This distance is crucial in maintaining a stable machine and most modern bicycles usual employ a positive trail, that is; a trail which extends forwards from the perpendicular line made with the ground and the centre of the front wheel (9). As this paper is only considering a basic model and does look at the more advanced mechanics and physics behind the movement of bicycles, trail will not feature heavily here. But the function below shows how it can be calculated (10).

In this equation, w is the watts required to overcome gravity, G is standard acceleration due to gravity, P is the weight of the object, is the slope percentage and V is the current velocity.

b. FRICTION
When riding a bicycle, one of the most fundamental forces being applied is that of friction. This force slows the rider through the loss if energy from the wheel contact points with the floor. When calculating the pedalling power, it is important to account for friction and alter the output accordingly. Friction is a difficult thing to calculate as it is different for every surface. A good approximation of the power required to overcome friction on a flat surface is given by May (11).

Where w = watts to overcome friction, V is the velocity in m/s and p is the weight in kilograms. This wattage must be subtracted from the pedal power output before calculating the force.

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c. AIR RESISTANCE
Much like friction, wind resistant can be thought of as a force that slows the rider as he or she attempts to pass through it. Once again it is very difficult to calculate but May also provides the formula to calculate it (11).

#HighPivotURTs. 9 Whitt FR, Wilson DG. Bicycling Scinece. 2nd ed.: . Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 1982. 1 Putnam J. www.phred.org. [Online].; 2006 [cited 0 2011 11 16. Available from: . http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/trail.html. 1 Q M. www.mayq.com. [Online].; 2010 [cited 1 2011 11 16. Available from: . http://www.mayq.com/Best_european_trips/Cy cling_speed_math.htm.

Here, w is the watts required to overcome air resistance, is wind resistance, v is velocity and is wind velocity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1 Sharp RS. Motorcycle Steering Control by Road . Preview. Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control (ASME). 2007 July;(129). 2 Fajans J. Steering in Bicycles and Motorcycles. . American Journal of Physics. 2000 July; 68(7). 3 Cossalter V. Motorcycle Dynamics. 2nd ed.: Lulu; . 2006. 4 sciencelearn.org.nz. sciencelearn.org.nz. . [Online].; 2011 [cited 2011 11 16. Available from: http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/ScienceStories/Cycling-Aerodynamics/Pedal-power. 5 Coggan A. trainingpeaks.com. [Online]. [cited 11 16. Available from: . 2011 http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/ power-profiling.aspx. 6 Newton I. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia . Mathematica. 1st ed. London; 1687. 7 everythingbicycling.co.za. . everythingbicycling.co.za. [Online].; 2005-2011 [cited 2011 11 16. Available from: http://everythingbicycling.co.za/index.php?Item id=67&id=36&option=com_content&task=view. 8 West T. www.rdrop.com. [Online].; 2000 [cited 11 16. Available from: . 2011 http://www.rdrop.com/~/twest/mtb/index.html Page 5 of 5

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