Scientists discover how bicycles work

DELFT, Netherlands, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Dutch-led researchers have solved a nearly 150-year-old mystery by determining how a moving bicycle can be as stable as it is.

Delft University of Technology researchers, working with colleagues from Cornell University and the University of Nottingham, have created the ultimate model of the bicycle.

"Bicycle manufacturers have never been able to say precisely how a bicycle works," said Arend Schwab of Delft's Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering. "They have always had to refine their designs purely through experimentation.

"In our model, they can enter into the computer all of the various factors that influence the stability and handling of their bicycle," said Schwab. "The model then calculates how the bicycle will react at specific speeds."

The study that included researchers Arend Schwab and Jodi Kooijman appeared recently in the Proceedings of the Royal Society Series A.