this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2024
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[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Same principle as a gyroscope: a turning wheel will tend to stay perpendicular or parallel to the direction of the gravity vector because if it starts tilting away from such orientation there's a force that pushes it back.

Also works better with bigger wheels (if I remember it correctly the effect is related to spinning momentum).

I was pretty surprised when learning Physics and they show us how to derive the formula for that (which I totally forgot since that was over 3 decades ago).

Edit: Actually the gyroscopic effetc is just a part of it. See this article

[–] anti_antidote@lemmy.zip 30 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Actually, it's the bike's geometry rather than a gyroscopic effect. Try rolling a bike backwards rather than forward - it'll topple quickly

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah, you're mostly right: Why bycicles stay upright.

There's some gyroscopic effect, but per that article it's not the main reason.

[–] Ferrous@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yep. And it is an easy one to test. Just immobilize the bike's steering and see how well you can get it to balance.

[–] PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Freestyle BMX riders go in reverse all the time and they don't fall over.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 0 points 1 month ago

A BMX bike without a rider will roll along happily. We called it "ghost riding" when I was a kid.

[–] Malfeasant@lemm.ee 7 points 1 month ago

Gyroscopic effect is not even significant. Lock your steering and you will fall over no matter how fast your wheels are spinning. (Which can happen with a badly pitted headset)