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Will a free standing bicycle ridden on a treadmill fall over? (hackertalks.com)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Stationary bicycles need support to stop from falling over because they lack gyroscopic stabilization. Right?

If you ride a free bicycle on a treadmill (so both wheels are spinning) will it fall over or stay upright?

If you fall over on a treadmill, does it matter if this treadmill bicycle combo is on a train?

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[–] Hawke 20 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It will not fall over, although it is more difficult to keep upright. You can get bicycle “treadmills” (rollers) which let you ride in place similar to a stationary bike.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

Tacx, the company that make those rollers, also make a bike trainer treadmill! (video review demonstrating them)

[–] mojo_raisin 4 points 7 months ago (3 children)

If I have one of these in my house and I go off the side would I crash right into the wall in front of me?

[–] Buddahriffic 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

No, the energy in the wheels isn't enough to accelerate the bike and your body very much. Either the wheels will spin without traction or you'll lurch a little forward, or some combination of the two.

You can see the effect by lifting your rear wheel off the ground and spinning the tire up then dropping the bike back to the ground. The ground basically just acts like a brake.

[–] mojo_raisin 2 points 7 months ago

Ah ok that makes sense.

[–] Hawke 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Unlikely. You would still be accelerating your mass from zero, and you’d have plenty of time to stop pedaling. If you did it would be an extremely low-speed crash.

I’d say that riding off the side would be pretty likely to cause a loss of control though.

[–] mojo_raisin 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

so still might want to wear a helmet, at least if you're not very experienced

[–] Hawke 1 points 7 months ago

That would be wise, as well as having an assistant or a wall/doorway nearby to steady you.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yes! The gyroscopic force of the bike will completely bypass the braking force of the ground and will be transferred directly onto your body, forcing you to cartwheel like a sideways helicopter into the wall in front of you. Beware! Bewaare!

[–] mojo_raisin 2 points 7 months ago

This is what I imagine in my mind, but since I don't see hundreds of YouTube videos of this happening, I guess that's not how it works.