growweblaar
Race Dog
Sometimes, if I can't sleep, I find myself trying to solve the most ridiculous problems (I'm a geek, I know). The other night, a few days after dropping my bike for the first time, I was contemplating why I would - or more accurately: wouldn't - be able to pick up my Dakar.
So let's say the bike weighs about 190kg as it lies there on the ground. And let's assume that, if the bike were standing up, its Centre of Gravity (COG) would be about 50cm above terra firma. So, simplistically, the exercise is to move 190kg through a 90 deg arc with radius 50 cm.
Let's further assume that the point at which you will be applying the force is roughly another 50cm from the COG, so about 1 meter from the pivot point (on the seat, if you're using the butt-to-seat method, on the handlebar if you're using that).
This leaves us with a leverage of about 2:1, which means that, at the bottom - the start of the arc - you are lifting 95kg.
So how many of you guys can walk into the gym and squat 95kg? I certainly can't :-\ So why can you pick up your bike (and I'm not even talking about you okes with the 1200s
...
Is it because most of us can lift in the order of 95kg for a very short distance, and because the weight reduces exponentially along the arc?
Where are all those underpaid engineers - this must be an easy one... ;D
So let's say the bike weighs about 190kg as it lies there on the ground. And let's assume that, if the bike were standing up, its Centre of Gravity (COG) would be about 50cm above terra firma. So, simplistically, the exercise is to move 190kg through a 90 deg arc with radius 50 cm.
Let's further assume that the point at which you will be applying the force is roughly another 50cm from the COG, so about 1 meter from the pivot point (on the seat, if you're using the butt-to-seat method, on the handlebar if you're using that).
This leaves us with a leverage of about 2:1, which means that, at the bottom - the start of the arc - you are lifting 95kg.
So how many of you guys can walk into the gym and squat 95kg? I certainly can't :-\ So why can you pick up your bike (and I'm not even talking about you okes with the 1200s
...Is it because most of us can lift in the order of 95kg for a very short distance, and because the weight reduces exponentially along the arc?
Where are all those underpaid engineers - this must be an easy one... ;D
