Without gravity bicycles are unsteerable.

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Comment count is 14

exy

- 2018-04-19

Other things bicycles are without gravity:

pointless

Maggot Brain

- 2018-04-19

I keep reading this as "Without Gravity Biscuits are Undesirable."

infinite zest

- 2018-04-20

Gravity is what keeps the Gravy from separating.

Anaxagoras

- 2018-04-19

I am so confused about this video. He goes into rather abstract & obscure physics fact, but his assertion is obvious w/out all that. After all, in normal gravity a bicycle changes direction when the direction of the friction between the wheels & the ground changes. No gravity == no steering.

You see the same principle at work if you've ever tried to steer *anything* while on an ice sheet. It just doesn't work, unless you have blades cutting into the ice to create the all-important friction.

Anaxagoras - 2018-04-19

Actually, I don't think blades give you steering due to friction. I'm not sure what principle is at work there.

Raggamuffin - 2018-04-19

No you're right. My Mechanics is rusty as hell but basically when you lean into a turn you're putting force into the ice, and the equal-opposite force makes you turn in the other direction. The skates work because even though there is very little friction from the blades lengthwise, there is quite a bit horizontally, and that friction is why you turn.

Raggamuffin - 2018-04-19

also, what I think this video is saying (and I'm reaching to the extents of my physics knowledge here) is that the force of gravity doesn't do anything to the physics of this bike because, gravity is now perpendicular to the bike's action, so it has no effect.

Hence the horizontal pendulum. You can "swing" the pendulum, but gravity is perpendicular to it, so it doesn't do anything to swing it back.

Anaxagoras - 2018-04-20

Oh.. that makes sense about the blades. Thanks for the explanation.

betabox - 2018-04-19

Without gravity, bicycles have no traction, so steering is not an option.

I have no idea whether the video's analysis of bicycle steering vis a vis gravity is valid, but I thought I should mention that little detail.

Binro the Heretic

- 2018-04-20

That was my first though, too.

I don't know if this counts as "zero gravity" because I think gravity is one of the reasons the front wheel can't be turned with that rig on the back.

I could be wrong, though.

Chicken the Did

- 2018-04-20

"You can't ride it! You can't ride it!"

Xenocide

- 2018-04-20

Dammit, I spent the last five hours preparing an emergency checklist for what to do in case God cancels gravity, and "Ride a bicycle" was near the top of the list, right below "learn to ride a bicycle." Now I have start over, fuck you.

Mr. Purple Cat Esq. - 2018-04-20

I *think* this is classic physics. They're demonstrating an interesting phenomenon, in a completely pointless way.

Nominal - 2018-04-21

At least now cyclists have an excuse to be barreling through every red light and stop sign.

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