Loading...Bicycling is a mode of transportation adopted by many people around the globe, as it is a great way get around and doesn’t emit and fossil fuels. It is pretty easy to imagine how a bike stays up when someone is riding it: the person can adjust the handlebars to steer or reverse any tilting motions. But have you ever seen a bike stay up without a rider? As you will see in this great video by Minute Physics, bikes have the special, odd ability that they can stay up if pushed at a good speed, and for a surprisingly long time too.
The reason behind this, as you will learn by watching the video, is a mysterious combination of many different factors that involve the physics and engineering of a bike. We don’t actually know what about these factors makes a bike stay up, but it certainly has something to do with the center of gravity of the bike, the angular momentum of the wheels, and a chance phenomenon that happens when the front wheel tilts a little to either side. It’s a very intriguing question, and a great video.