Giant is a Taiwanese manufacturing company which is popular for making bicycles. It is in china, Netherlands and Taiwan. One may ask: How far has Giant commanded the bicycle industry? The Taiwanese giant bicycle brand is unique in its model.
The model of these bicycles is described in the factors as follows: road, comfort, mode, specialty, mountain, family cycling and indoor cycling. It should be with much interest, to note that the classification criterion caters for factors such as age, purpose, environmental conditions, finances, as well as durability to highlight briefly (Upham).
In the model of the giant brand of bicycles, three key areas dominated the birth of their bicycles. They include: the frame of the bicycle; the joints and the alignment of the wheel as well as the gear. The compact road design made in 1995, for example, was said to be lighter and stiffer because of using a rear triangle that was relatively smaller and a top tube that was sloping.
Another reason was because of using less material. Its speed was also exceptionally high thus placing itself at a position of much envy from the competitors. The model also ensured that resistance by was reduced to the minimal level best.
These giant brands came in different sizes, which include large, medium, and small ones. Through innovation and the spirit of competitiveness, the company was able to come up with a model that was possible to adjust the height
Giant was able to come up with a particularly powerful model in 2006 known as maestro suspension. This model creates a floating point which in effect reduces the pedal bob and enables the rear wheel to travel vertically. Very amazing! Is it not? All Giants models are meant to address the peoples needs and guarantee them the comfort much needed in cycling.
The brand being manufactured by a Taiwanese company is exceedingly appealing too. Taiwanese, being known for their riding behavior, one can guess how this company is likely to pick. It is a fact that this company has undoubtedly initiated a revolution in the bicycle industry. The question one may put across is this: how and to what the largest bicycle company in the US was extent has it influenced the industry world-wide? (Yu)
In 1980s, Giant would have to dare operate in the midst of leading companies, which produced the high and middle quality bikes while it produced cheap and low quality bikes. The innovativeness and competitiveness of Giant produced relatively cheap bikes and of convenient quality, which became a preference of many. Bigger companies had to compromise some of their policies to avoid becoming irrelevant in the industry.
Today it is not possible to talk of bicycles without mentioning Giant. Its presence is felt almost everywhere. Cycling is an extremely awesome experience in Taiwan. In all cycling ventures, safety is key in Taiwan. An extremely vital aspect in Taiwans cycling is freedom.
People can stop at the places they consider fancy and admire them. This consequently becomes culinary culture. Moreover, an individual can enjoy the local delicacies which are easily obtainable from the streets. There are various cycling routes which one can follow. In all cycling activities, it is imperative that an individual complies to safety rules.
Works Cited
Upham, Phineas. Innovation and the interrelatedness of core competencies : how Taiwans giant bicycles broke into US bicycle mar. Managing global transitions, 2006. Print.
This paper is the initial project architecture that describes the design methodology of the project of an electric bicycle. The purpose of this work is to identify the strategy aimed to implement the project and determine what resources and tools will be required to achieve the project goals. In addition, the paper divides the project into several stages and describes what is expected to be accomplished after each phase is finished.
Determining Basic Requirements
There are several basic requirements for designing an electric bicycle. These include the acceptable price of the vehicle, the expected time of usage and distance during the day, and the necessity of battery charging while traveling (Nasiri-Zarandi & Ebrahimi, 2018). In addition, it is advisable to define the type of application of the bicycle: urban or suburban, racing, or mountain (Nasiri-Zarandi & Ebrahimi, 2018). Conducting the research on the average market price and technical possibilities of the electric bicycle will be required to achieve the goals of this phase of the project. Once the basic requirements of the vehicle are determined, it will make the entire work and the future phases more precise as the image of the final project will be drawn.
Considering constraints, limitations, and technical details
The second phase is associated with deeper research regarding legal standards of designing an electric bike and the corresponding mathematical issues. First, it is crucial to consider the legal limitations for an electric vehicle in a particular country (Nasiri-Zarandi & Ebrahimi, 2018). The corresponding reference documents are in open access, and investigating them is required to complete Phase 2. Then, the essential aspect of the project is related to the technical details of the vehicle, including the required road power, which can be estimated by analyzing wind speed and ground gradient (Nasiri-Zarandi & Ebrahimi, 2018). Other factors that can affect the process are installation of the electric motor and selection of the battery (Nasiri-Zarandi & Ebrahimi, 2018). Achieving that will require solving some mathematical relations and review the correlated literature to create an appropriate mathematical model for the project. Once Phase 2 is complete, the project will be ready for implementation.
One of the major requirements related to the design of any product is choosing the proper material to withstand all loads and stresses, either permanent or accidental, which may occur during its use. In order to reduce the time needed for the manufacture and trial of the products, a series of simulations are conducted by the designers and thus significantly reducing the number of possible materials the future products may be made of.
In general terms a bike is defined as a human powered road vehicle with two wheels arranged one after the other, set into motion by the application of work on two foot pedals. Bicycles are estimated to be the most energy-efficient mode of transport: one US study found that to cycle one mile burns 35 calories, to walk uses 100 calories, while a car’s engine burns 1,860 calories.
Problem Definition
At present the following materials are mostly used for making bike frames:
Al 6061 alloy – for the bikes used in Trial, Street, XC, Tr, Am and Fr;
Carbon fiber – for the bikes used in marathons;
Titanium – it has been increasingly used for making bike frames.
The mechanical properties of common bike frame materials are listed in Table 1. Among all the aluminium alloys used for making bike frames, series 6000 is most preferred – represented by aluminium alloyed with magnesium, chromium, manganese, copper and silicon. 6061 aluminium is the most used alloy in this series due to its excellent machinability and cost. After its machining, the material is subject to a thermal treatment – hardening – to increase the strength properties.
Carbon fiber was initially employed in the automotive industry, on Formula 1 single-seaters, as it has a reduced weight, has an increased strength and especially an increased safety level due to its capacity to disintegrate into small particles, thus absorbing the energy during a possible impact. The sports models took over elements from motorsport to reduce the weight and obtain improved dynamic performances.
For the material selection process, we made certain assumptions to ensure that the problem didn’t get too overtly complicated. They were namely;
Frame was considered to be constructed from a uniform cross-section. This assumption was made for the simplicity of material selection. The selection depended on the shape of the of the part to be fabricated, and if we were to consider the varying shapes, the selection of a specific material would be difficult.
The downtube is the most severely loaded component of the bicycle and hence selecting a material such that it sustained these loads were of most importance. Thus, the downtube was analyzed for its failure.
Entirety of the frame is manufactured from the same material.
The downtube is a simply supported beam.
The bike analyzed would be used for performance focused/racing applications.
Requirements
Functional requirements are directly related to the required characteristics of the component, subassembly, or product. An important requirement for materials used in bicycle frame is its strength. Compressive strength is the basic measurement of strength of a material. It is specifically a measurement of the force required to push apart a material. In frame design, the higher the strength betters the performance of the frame. More strength allows less material to be used resulting less weight of the component. (Maleque, M.A.; Dyuti 2010)
Toughness is the property that defines exactly how much a material can stretch before failing. Titanium is an incredibly tough material whereas aluminium has good toughness as a raw material. However, some extra care needs to be taken during manufacturing of the aluminium frame to make sure not let the tube wall get too thin.
CFRP is found to be the best material based upon the ranking from Table 3 but since the material is already in use in the industry, the next best choice is found to be Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) and can be processed by Laser/pressure forming (Hot pressing) and sintering then subsequently machined as required.
Cost Trade-off
As part of the report, minimising the weight was considered to be of utmost priority without considering the cost that would be incurred for the same. Because, after referring to the Ashby Material selection textbook and by analysing this graph, it was found that coupling both cost and weight as objectives didn’t have a relevant impact on the procedure. As seen in the graph, for bikes below 10kgs the slope of cost per kg is significantly steeper, i.e. it gets expensive to reduce the bike weight below 10kgs. In the range below 10kgs, reducing the cost significantly hardly reduces the weight of the bicycle, but in that range the buyer won’t be concerned about the cost of the bike but rather on its performance. Considering purely performance-oriented bikes in which case minimising the weight trumps the cost of the bicycle and thus if both performance bikes as well as bikes for casual use were to be considered, then using this trade-off curve would be helpful in finding a middle ground. Fig 9: Price vs Bicycle Mass chart
Conclusion
The process followed is automatically checked for correctness because it is found that Carbon fiber reinforced plastics are the best choice for performance bicycles with the given selection criteria and the next best choice is found to be Silicon Nitride and then Titanium Alloy Ti6Al4V
References
Rontescu, C., Cicic, T., Amza, C., Chivu, O., and Dobrotă, D. (2015). “Choosing the optimum material for making a bicycle frame.” Metalurgija, 54(4), 679–682.
Maleque, M.A.; Dyuti, S. (2010). “Materials for Bicycle Frame System – A Case Study on the Development of Selection Method.” The third international conference on structure, processing and properties of materials SPPM2010 , (March 2014).
Brower, M. (2005). Advancements in Materials Used in Bicycle Frames.
Andrew Cantrell. (2003). “Bicycle Materials Case Study.” (Apr. 9, 2019).
‘Ashby, M. F., and Jones, D. R. H. (2012). “Processing Metals 2.” Engineering Materials 2, 279–296.’
Since the fuel prices increasing not only in India but throughout the world day by day. Thus, there is tremendous need to modify or to reuse the output energy of engine fuel by using electrical energy source. A gasoline-electric hybrid bicycle which roles not only on internal combustion engine but also batteries and motors which is the generate electric energy to drive the wheels. It has a great advantage over previously used gasoline engine that drives the power from gasoline only. It effects the environment into great extend so, it is very essential to make use of gasoline electric hybrid bicycle. Method to upgrade conventional bicycle into a combination of mechanical and electrical bicycle by using 2 stroke engine and by using motor and batteries to increase the overall efficiency and performance of bicycle within minimum cost. The combination of both powers makes the bicycle dynamic in nature, it provides advantage in fuel economy and environment impact over conventional bicycle. Initially the designing of bicycle in cad, simulations of inventor and other models are done equipment and their cost analysis is done. It deals with fabrication of the vehicle.
INTRODUCTION
During selection of project topic, it became necessary to design and fabricate the hybrid bicycle with mechanical and electrical combination because the major problems are arising like increasing pollution, fuel cost so it is necessary to have an alternative solution for this and hence A hybrid bicycle uses two or more distinct type of power sources, such as internal combustion engine to drive an electric generator that powers an electric motor. The basic principle with hybrid bicycle is that the different motors work better at different speeds. The electric motor is more efficient at producing torque, power and then combustion engine is better for maintaining high speed better than typical electric motor. Switching from one to the other at the proper time while speeding up yields a win in terms of energy efficiency, as such that translate into greater fuel efficiency. In today’s world, we face the problem of dwindling fuel resources for vehicle. There is no doubt that the emission of carbon dioxide from an automobile exhaust is a concern for the increasing rate of global warming. So, one of the optimistic solutions for such problem is the hybridization of the bicycle. The hybridization of a conventional combustion engine with an advanced electric motor drive may greatly enhance the overall efficiency and achieves better utilization fuel with reduced emissions. This include assembly of IC engine and it component. The next phase consists of implementing the electric power drive and designing the controllers. the final stage would consist of increasing efficiency of the vehicle in economic ways.
METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN
The hybrid vehicle consists of following components: 2- Stroke engine, hub motor, lead- acid battery, controller, accelerator, bicycle, dynamo etc.
Two-stroke engine:
a two engine is a type of internal combustion engine which complete a power cycle with two stroke (up and down movement) of the piston during only one crankshaft revolution. The two stroke engine be the end of combustion stroke & beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously with the intake & exhaust function occurring at the same time.
Two stroke engines often have a high power to weight ratio, power being available in a narrow range of rotational speeds called the “power band”. Compared to four stroke engines, two stroke engines have a greatly reduced no of moving parts & so can be more compact & significantly lighter.
Hub motor
Hub motor is typically brushless motor, which replace the commutator and brushes with half dozen or more. Separate coils and an electronic circuit. The circuit switches the power on & off in the coil in turn creating forces in each one that make the motor spin.it generate high torque at low speed, & also doesn’t need sprockets, brackets & drive chain. It is highly efficient. The main feature of hub motor is that they can be controlled to give wide constant power speed ranges.
Lead acid battery
[image: ]Lead acid batteries are very common in our day to day life. Batteries use a chemical reaction to do work on charge and produce a voltage between their output terminals. The sulphuric acid electrolyte produces a voltage. The supplying of energy to and external resistance discharge the battery. The discharge reaction can be reversed by applying a voltage from a charging source. Thus this project demand for a battery with long life with longer running hour’s lighter wright with respect to its high output voltage & higher energy density among all the available battery types the most suitable ones to be selected.
Controller
A motor controller is an important element of the hybrid bicycle. It serves as a brain of bicycle. It controls the amount to power supplied to the hub motor & also to the lights, horn, etc. the motor controller is connected to a power source. Such as a battery pack & control circuitry in the form of analog or digital input signals. The motor controller performs the fun of conversion of DC voltage from battery to an alternating voltage with variable amplitude & frequency that drive the hub motor at different speed.
CONCLUSION:
It is observed that, the ICE in this built hybrid electric bicycle is utilized for obtaining the propulsion of the bicycle from the rest, as the speed is increased; the electric motor propulsion is combined with the ICE propulsion for total movement of the bicycle. The total torque obtained by both ICE and electric motor are synchronized for respective road gradient by varying suitably the respective controllers utilized. By doing torque distribution accordingly, battery life per total charge can be enhanced in driving the electric motor also minimizing the fuel required for ICE propulsion.
REFERENCES
Kartik s. Mishra, “design and development of solar hybrid bicycle”, international journal of current engineering and technology issue 4 march2016
Satti swami reddy , “eco friendly vehicle”, international journal of engineering trends and technology, issue 4, April 2013, page no.957-960
Kunjan shinde, “literature review on electric bike”, volume 7, issue-1, April 2017
Barve D.S, ‘Design and Development of Solar Hybrid Bicycle’, International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, pp. 377-380,issue 2016
M Viswanath, “hybrid electrical vehicle” International Journal of Engineering research and Technology, issue 2018
Darshil g.kothsri, “hybride bicycle”, International Journal of Engineering development and research,volume-2,issue-1,2014
Sharada prasad, “design and development of hybrid electric two wheeler,volume-2,issue-2,spe2014
D.j.santini, “importance of vehicle cost fuel price and fuel efficiency in hybrid electric vehicle,issue1738,page no.11-19,2000
“Green Transportation”, many initiatives as such promoting sustainable transportation choices have been adopted in major cities around the world. Public Bicycle including bike rental services have been considered on various occasions to solve the last mile problem and the consistently rising pollution levels due to increasing automobiles on the streets. However, bicycle parking stations have attracted very few researchers attention. Through this project I aim at understanding the reasons associated with bike parking facilities which has been perceived as the first and last mile resting points for the users .Higher occupancies translate as one of the contributors in the lifecycle of Bicycle as a mode of transportation whether public or rental services. The bicycle parking data for the month of “Nov 18 from stations located in Dublin city reported by the city council is used for carrying out the analysis. This provides the association of occupancy with the various aspects which might be critical to understand the users behavior towards the city council’s initiatives to promote a sustainable transportation. Analyzing this yielded an output according to which lighting , ease of access and medium security levels contributed largely towards higher occupancies .
INTRODUCTION
While bike sharing services have been around for more than a decade, the public infrastructure to promote cycling as a sustainable option to the conventional modes of transport has picked up lot of traction in the governmental policies . Dublin has recently had many such ventures with Dublin bikes being the most popular with the highest subscribers [2] . We consider the popular Bike renting model as a benchmark on whose data extensive research has been carried out. A typical Bike sharing system can be categorized in the following areas [3] (i) demand analysis (ii)Service analysis (iii)rebalancing operations. The analysis in this project aims at addressing the service analysis area through the available park stations data.
Little has been done on addressing the stations as these play an adequately important role along with other factors in the success of this Public mode of transportation, an initiative by Dublin city council. Firstly, we will check how the locations with different types of stations namely Sheffield, Railing and Hoops are performing in the existing areas and then the analysis of various factors affecting the occupancies of these stations. To validate the fields for the carrying out the statistical tests, Goodman Kruskal Gamma test for checking the co-relations and then proceeding for Anova to determine the factors which are strongly affecting the occupancy. This analysis helps in rebalancing the resources appropriately and have a better understanding of the user behaviour translating into better utilization and service.
Dataset
The dataset is from smartdublin.ie with recent updates from Nov 2018 which as noted earlier is by Dublin city Council. This comprises of cycle parking stations from across Dublin, with 556 records with exact locations. The Table 1. represents the attributes of the dataset.
EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS
Below image shows the summary of the first set of features being analysed for association with info on no. of cases processed. The Goodman Kruskal Gamma test is conducted as the variables considered are ordinal in nature.
Overall less than 50%of bike stands are situated near the entertainment centres. From the symmetric measure table, we see that the Gamma value is 427 which depicts a strong positive association with the type of stands, being statistically significant.
We see that around 60% (8) of railing stands are located nearby entertainment centres. From the symmetric measurements we observe that there is a strong negative association with type of stands and is statistically significant. The value of 1 is if the station is in the vicinity of a recreational establishment and value 0 is if it’s not in the vicinity of any recreational establishment.
Similarly, from the gamma test with security safety rating and type of stands, wherein security safety rating is categorised numerically as 0 – none, 1 – medium and 2 – high. Around 80% of the railing stands are rated as having no security, contrastingly 10% have been rated as high. For the case of Sheffield stands which constitute a major part of the total count have around 40% (189 stands) rated as no security and around 50% falling in the range of high security. From the Gamma value which is 0.305 we infer there is a positive strong association with type of stands and statistically significant.
We infer that 90% of the railing stands have in high lighting range and 10% in the no lighting range. The Sheffield stands have around 60% in high lighting range and around 39% in the no lighting range. The stainless-steel curved stands are having around 98% in the high lighting range. With the gamma value of around -0.312 we infer that there is a negative association with the type of stands and is statistically significant. The values are assigned as follows: 0 – none , 1 – low , 2 – medium , 3 – high .
We infer that railing stands are all in high condition, which can be categorised as in good build condition. The Sheffield stands having around 69% in high condition and around 31% in medium condition. All the stainless-steel curved stands are in high condition. From the gamma test value -0.437 we infer that there is a strong negative association with the type of stands and statistically significant. The values of physical condition are assigned as follows: 1 – medium, 2 – high .
We observe that 80%(40 stands) of the railing stand stations aren’t located anywhere near a restaurant establishment. Sheffield stand stations having around 72% not anywhere close by to restaurant establishment. A whopping 72% aren’t anywhere near a restaurant establishment. The gamma test value computed is -0.36 which indicates weak negative association and the significance at 0.772 we infer that its statistically insignificant.
ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING OCCUPANCY
Based on the exploratory analysis done the further analysis at this point concentrates on the strong factors affecting the occupancy of the stands. A pattern recognized for this would greatly help the council to concentrate on how the stands are being perceived. The addressing of the user behavior towards the stands will contribute largely towards the success of the initiative. This would also contribute in efficient decision making of the investments going into the stand and how well is it being received by the public.
A. Techniques : Anova
Anova accordingly would be an appropriate technique over the others as the dependant(outcome) variable is continuous and the independent(predictor) variables are ordinal. We will be carrying out statistical tests to support our findings from the exploratory analysis. We conducted Anova tests with the strong and weak associates to support the analysis and find their significant effect. We compare the means of more than one groups / categories. We will try to find the percentage of effect on the occupancy of stations.
B. Mean of occupancy Vs Ease of access
Anova analysis shows that occupancies of bikes are different among the ease of access categories ranging from Poor to Good. However, Poor and fair ease of access conditions show a significant relationship and might belong to same group as per the ANOVA. The mean graphs clearly depict that most of the occupancies have happened in good ease of access category rather than in poor or fair access range. So based on the overall stats we can support that good ease of access has primarily been one of the driving factors for rise in occupancy.
C. Mean occupancy Vs lighting
From the below table we can say with 99% confidence that there is significant effect on the lighting of the stands contributing towards higher occupancy.
Dissecting further the ANOVA and post hoc Tukey Honestly significant difference tests we can generalize that the means of the occupancies of bikes are different among the groups of the lighting range from none to high. According to Tukey HSD there is only significant difference between the groups of high and none lighting range. However, none and low lighting conditions show a significant relationship and might belong to same group as per the ANOVA .i.e. the occupancies in such lighting conditions is seen to be similar which fall in low category of occupation. The mean graphs clearly depict the most of the occupancies happened in medium and high conditions rather than in none and low.
D. Mean of occupance Vs Security safety rating
From the above graph of mean occupancy measure Vs security safety rating it can be inferred that there is a considerable occupancy rise when the rating is medium as when compared to the none rating. While there is no much significant rise of occupancy when the rating goes from medium to high.
RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION
Bicycle as a mode of transport has always been perceived as the solution for the last mile travel in commuting, leisure etc. The city corporations and corporate industries as such have been continuously promoting these initiatives for healthier and cleaner environment. A major step towards the promotion of public usage by the inhabitants is through a strong infrastructure which would be the backbone supporting these initiatives. Parking stations have their own contribution in this area with aspects such as proximity between them , safety and many such factors. [4] A recent report by Dublin city council touched upon the councils initiatives to promote a sustainable public transport , recent installation of new parking stations and conversions of existing car parking spaces into bike parking stations to promote and accommodate more bikes. [5] The reported highlighted that adequate cycle parking stations plays a key role in the success of this scheme. [5]
Lack of identity of the bike parking stations leads to loss of people for this mode of commute [4]. An investigation by R.Buehler found that work places with better cycle parking facilities saw a 9% increase in bike commuting and bike parking had a strong statistical significance to bike parking. This paper employs multiple regression to examine the relationship of bike commuting, employer incentives and trip end facilities(bike parking , cyclist showers) which found only 1.7% of bike commuters . Employees with bike parking facilities at the trip end were associated with 1.78-time greater likelihood to cycle to work than those without any. Overall in the research area the level of evidence on the role of bicycle parking is limited, the parking facilities, conditions and qualities appear to be associated as determinants of bicycle commute for current and potential cyclists. [6] A research on the bicycle parking facilities as a contributor to the bicycle infrastructure driving the cycling initiatives found that high quality and frequent bicycle parking play a role in encouraging the public to switch to this sustainable mode of transport. [7] This paper categorised the design factors to seven categories to benchmark the selected cities. Each individual category was broken down to 50 criteria’s which were scored based on a scale of 1-5 by two riders. The research on examining the facilities at bike park stations affecting the bike commuting is seldom considered and very less in this area has been done
CONCLUSION
This project aims at finding the contribution of various factors associated with a bicycle park station. At stage(i)we conduct Goodman Kruskal gamma to measure the strength and association of the factors with the type of stands. This gives a considerable insight into the descriptive statistics part. At the stage (ii) Anova is conducted with strong associated groups to determine the individual subgroup effects. The results show that there is a considerably variation in the occupancy when the lighting is high and ease of access is good as compared to thecir the other scales of the respective factor. The security which is majorly perceived as a strong aspect has considerable effect when the rating of the stations is around medium and we see a nominal rise when its rated as high. The consequences of bike parking facilities are usually underestimated but the case here wherein occupancy which to an extent translates to this sustainable mode of commute being recognised by the citizens are highlighted. Thus, the tangible aspects pertaining to the bicycle parking stations does play a key role in the behaviour of the users.
People are increasingly riding cycle in Georgia for faster travelling and frivolous purpose. Bicyclists are growing every year and it’s becoming a staple in Georgia. Along with the increase number of cyclists, vehicle accidents are also increasing. Georgia has been ranked No. 43 in the country for its bicycle casualty degree, with 18.3 deaths per 10,000 cycle commuters according to the Benchmarking Report. Thus, it has become a necessitate for the state to enact proper laws to provide to protection and proper requirements to the cyclist.
The maximum source of bicycle laws come from Chapter 6, Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, which is abbreviated as “O.C.G.A.” An overall basic bicycle laws includes:
General Rules
One of the basic laws of bicycle in Georgia is that a bicycle is well-defined as a “Vehicle” and the ride is defined as the “Driver”. This means that general automobile laws must be obeyed by the cyclist. However, there are different kinds sections and codes of automobile rules which are not implied for a bicycle. Those codes or section which has the phrase “vehicle”, that section or code is applied to all the vehicles including bicycles. (O.C.G.A. Sec. 40-1-1(14)(75).
Use of Sidewalks
According to the laws, it is unlawful to use bikes in the sidewalk unless the cyclist is 12 or under the age of 12. Individuals above the age of 12 is prohibited to ride in the sidewalk of the public street. The code does not specify any exception, although there should be exception. What if a biker needs to take the sidewalk because of not having any other proper alternatives? Thus, the law should have been meticulous about this matter. (O.C.G.A. Sec. 40-6-144)
Helmets for young riders
Cyclist who are 16 years old or older do not need to wear any helmet while riding a bicycle. Minors under age od 16 must wear helmets when cycling in the public street. (O.C.G.A. Sec. 40-6-296(d)
Use of Lights
Riding at night time is perilous for bicyclist since accident may occur anytime. So, proper light should be attached in the cycle so that the ride can see the roads clearly. A bicyclist must have white headlights that is bright enough to be detected from at 300 feet ways. And bright reflectors should be installed in font and back part of the bicycle. Red light is recommended as reflectors. (O.C.G.A. Sec. 40-6-296(a)
Using the correct lane:
Every individual riding a bicycle should use the nearest right lane except for some conditions like
A biker who wants to take a left turn
To evade any dangerous situation
When the road is not wide enough to share with other motor vehicles.
It is not obligatory to stay in the right lane under all circumstances. Cyclists who want to take a left turn, need not require to stay in the right lane. Moving to the left or taking center of the lane is legal in the state. (O.C.G.A. Sec. 40-6-294
Proper Signaling
Cyclists must show signals while changing lanes or direction. Signals can be given by using hand or arm or by flashing lights. If the cyclist needs both hands to ride the bicycle, he/she do not need to continuously show signals. To show the signals the rules are,
For left turn, show left-hand horizontally
For right turn, show right-hand horizontally
For stoppage or decrease in speed, show left hand and arm downward to left side of the bicycle. (O.C.G.A. sec.40-6-125)
Overtaking and Passing
While overtaking another vehicle, cyclists need to leave a “safe distance”. Safe distance means leaving out not less that 3 feet. This is also known as 3 foot rule. Other than that, a driver should wait until it’s safe to overtake a vehicle.
Whether you are having a wonderful day or bad day, if you are commuting through a bicycle then it becomes your duty to keep yourself and people around you safe. To do that, it is necessary to follow state rules and regulation.
I still recall riding a bike without training wheels as if it was last night. When I was about seven or eight years old, I rode my first bicycle.
Riding my bike will stick with me as one of my favorite events forever. Learning to ride a bicycle can be very exciting, but also very painful. But personally, I found it very spectacular.
I started to realize that all of my friends had bikes with two wheels, and I had the only bike with those insanely horrifying training wheels still on it. I wanted my training wheels off and I wanted it bad. I had finally decided that it was time. My dad taught me how to ride my first bicycle.
“I want my training wheels off”, I said with extreme dignity. My mom just finished baking her award-winning banana bread. Man, I would die for a slice of bread, it was so good! Walking outside, I could remember how the blacktop with glimmering because of how bright it was. The sky was as clear as glass. We decided to come out on the perfect summer day. The park was pretty empty with just a few people here and there. Dad and I went to the central park to see how I would handle it. My dad brought his bike from when he was a kid and told me to hop on. I was very unsteady at first. The bike had white and red stripes and had a water bottle holder in the front. The event stuck in my head like a fishhook in my skin. I had so much fun going through the trials and errors of bike riding. “Be careful!”, my dad strongly advised me while he ran next to the bicycle to keep me steady. The road on which I was learning had a very flat blacktop that reflected everything in the vicinity. My dad was staying next to me to make sure I wouldn’t fall off. He kept pushing me to keep going even though I wanted to stop. I loved and trusted my dad so much that I kept pushing forward. “You’re a natural!”, he gratefully told me. I had the nicest dad you could ask for. He spent countless hours trying to teach get me to ride a bike flawlessly. He never gave up on me riding a bicycle. I couldn’t thank my dad enough for taking me out here to teach me how to ride a bike on this wonderful evening. I thanked my dad shyly for his patience. I started to get good, but the sun was setting, therefore he said we could try again tomorrow. My mom cooked my favorite steak and baked beans for dinner because of what I accomplished today.
The next day, my dad took me to that same park. With the wind in my face, I started to pedal aggressively. I was going faster now, it felt like I had been riding for years. “Dad, look at me, I’m doing it!”, I screamed in joy. My dad was about a football field length away from where I was. Suddenly, I felt giddy. I felt so scared that I was going to hurt myself very badly. My mind went blank from peddling, but I just kept going. I took another look at my dad. I felt some bumps in the road. Just then, I hit the biggest bump and fell into the grass. I had never seen my dad run faster than that. My dad looked like a professional sprinter. When he got to me, he asked me if I was okay. I had a little boo-boo on my knee. But that wouldn’t stop me from anything.
I practiced, and practiced and I started to get good. I fell several times and received some cuts on my hands and legs. My dad, however, told me not to lose heart. My dad told me I learned very fast, the fastest he had ever seen. Not long after, dad bought me my own bicycle. It was beautiful! I fell in love with it. I took care of that bicycle like a baby.
This childhood event is one of the most memorable in my life. Not only because it is my first time learning how to ride a bike. But it is also a learning curve in my life. My dad taught me how to be independent because he pushed me to do it on my own with minimal help. He also taught me to be persistent. Even though I fell many times, I kept going because my dad wanted me to. In all, this experience was very great for me and it is a thing that will stick with me forever.
Suppose you are overweight and are interested in cycling for its health benefits, but you’re not sure where or how to start. There is good news: e-bikes for heavy riders can help you transition into a new, more active lifestyle. However, which bikes are the most suitable for heavy riders?
The best e-bikes for heavy riders are the Riese and Muller Superdelite E-Bike, the Radpower RadRunner, and the Tern GSD S00. They have thick tires for unmatched traction, baskets, and batteries up to 1000 watts, and can support up to 400 pounds (181k)
Who is a heavy rider
E-bikes typically have a weight limit of 220 lbs, but there are models that can handle weights as high as 300 lbs. In a lot of listings, 220 pounds is listed because 100 kilograms equals 220 lbs. It was a nice even number for bike designers to work with when designing bikes.
Features of E-bikes
>Provide Easier Pedaling:
Bicycles equipped with an electric motor provide assistance through pedaling or throttle operation. When you pedal an electric bike that includes a pedal assist, a small motor is activated by your movement. It then provides a boost that allows you to bike through rough or hilly terrain without becoming fatigued. Since these bikes have a conventional feel while still providing the superior experience of electric bikes, they are so popular. Essentially, you control speed with your feet, but you can accelerate much more quickly than you can with your hands.
Automated speed control
Pedaling harder on an electric bike generates a higher boost and makes the ride faster. However, have a limit to how fast you can go. It’s not possible to go too fast. Speed control is a great safety feature in electric bikes and is what truly distinguishes them from motorcycles.
>Spend less and save more:
In the long run, using an E-bike instead of a car will save you money. In most countries, gas and diesel are costly, and price spikes can have a big impact on a household’s budget. Buying ready-made essays for sale will not only save you money but also your time. If you ride an e-bike, you can purchase affordable batteries that can last 18-50 miles after a full charge, depending on the level of assistance you use.
>Choosing a battery for an e-bike:
Obviously, the motor of an electric bike is one of the most important components. e-bikes depend on their engines for their performance. Therefore, electric bike owners should carefully choose their bike’s motor. In this article, we will teach you how to choose the perfect motor for your electric bike.
If you’re unsure how to choose a motor for your electric bike, consider these factors:
Compatibility of Batteries
It is important to measure the compatibility of your battery and motor when choosing an electric bike motor. The manuals of both your e-bike and the existing battery will have information about the motor type that works with your bike.
Voltage Capacity
When choosing a motor for an electric bike, another important factor to consider is the voltage and power output. You may choose a lower-range capacity e-bike motor or a higher-range capacity e-bike motor depending on the purpose of your e-bike and where you are riding. It is usually best to ride around flat areas with smaller-range capacity motors, while larger-range capacity motors are better suited for hilly rides, and for carrying loads.
Choosing motor
Types of e-bike motors
Mid-drive motor
An e-bike’s mid-drive motor is located at the bottom, between the cranks, and in the middle of the frame. Motors such as these will surprise you with impressive performance and a short battery assist reaction time. Additionally, the centralized motor placement in the crank provides better weight distribution for the e-bike. Their reliability and efficiency are built-in, and they are typically more powerful than hub varieties, with a torque rating between 50Nm and 80Nm.
E-bikes usually have a higher purchase price as their primary disadvantage. However, the higher price is repaid by the longer service life of the engine; and more expensive e-bikes usually come with better equipment.
Geared-hub motor
Geared hub motors have gearboxes. This gearbox consists of planetary gear with three plastic gears inside. A motor wheel with high torque and a smaller overall size can be achieved. Nevertheless, this decreases the maximum speed to 30 kilometers per hour. With a geared motor, the rotor is inside the hub, and the magnets are attached to the outside of it. In this design, the magnets are prone to breaking away from the rotor under the influence of centrifugal force, one of the most common problems and one of the most difficult to fix. Secondly, a lower efficiency is a consequence of energy losses in the gearbox.
Bicycles are a prominent transport mode in the United States among other countries. In the US, the majority of pupils in the second grade own bicycles (Bergenstal, Davis, Sikora, Paulson, & Whiteman, 2012). However, bike riding has been a major source of trauma and deaths in the country as a result of the related accidents. Almost a half of the bicycle-related deaths and over 75% of all head injury cases involve children who are below 15 years old (Bergenstal et al., 2012).
In Canada, a significant number of trauma cases are also as a result of bicycle accidents (Grenier et al., 2013). The scenario is almost similar in other countries and is a pressing issue. This paper describes various strategies that can effectively increase helmet wearing when riding bicycles among third-grade students. Although the use of a helmet while riding bicycles can protect a cyclist from head injuries, only approximately 15% of American children aged less than 15 years wear the protective gear as they cycle.
A target audience can have increased awareness of a health problem or solution just through communication. In this case, the audience comprise of the students, their parents, and caregivers since they have a direct or indirect influence on the use of the protective gear (McKenzie & Smelter, 2001).
Bicycle safety education curriculum, parents or guardians’ counseling, as well as mandatory helmet legislation, are some of the communication platforms that can be effective strategies for increasing the use of helmet among the pupils (Theurer & Bhavsar, 2013).
The prevention of the bicycle-related injuries needs active parents or caregivers’ interventions to ensure that children make the helmet use their habit every time while riding. Therefore, making the parents and the caregivers aware of their role in promoting helmet use among their children can lead to an increased use of the protective hat. The sensitization on the importance of helmet use and its influence on children’s protective riding measures can also be imperative. The intervention would also include counseling the parents or caregivers about bicycle injury prevention measures concerning their children. Some laws hold parents accountable for their children’s safety and bringing them to the parents’ attention would be part of the intervention.
The introduction of bicycle safety education curriculum in schools would also be an effective intervention. Education programs involving active learning such as role playing and inference exercises as well as feedback result in a significant increase in the knowledge of students regarding safety and the related behaviors (Lachapelle, Noland, & Von Hagen, 2013). The BikeSafe educational curriculum, police led UK motorcycle project, resulted in improved bike safety knowledge among middle school aged children (Hooshmand, Hotz, Neilson, & Chandler, 2014).
Other than a face-to-face interaction between the children and the teachers, the use of computer technology like videos showing real-life bike scenarios involving helmet use would be a vital component of the program. Lastly, mandatory helmet legislation could be used as an intervention to improve the safety measure. Although not in all cases, strict implementation of the relevant laws mostly leads to an increased rate of helmet wearing among children and youth (Hagel & Yanchar, 2013). In Ontario, the enactment of helmet law covering cyclists aged below 18 years saw the use of helmet among children aged between five to fourteen years increase by 20%.
In conclusion, although the use of helmet among third-grade students has not reached the desirable standards, something can be done for its improvement. Bicycle safety education curriculum, parents or guardians’ counseling, as well as mandatory helmet legislation, can be effective interventions for the enhancement. However, a single application of any of the three may not be fully effective; therefore, a combination of the three of them would lead to the best results.
References
Bergenstal, J., Davis, S. M., Sikora, R., Paulson, D., & Whiteman, C. (2012). Pediatric bicycle injury prevention and the effect of helmet use: The West Virginia experience. West Virginia Medical Journal, 108(3), 78-81.
Grenier, T., Deckelbaum, D. L., Boulva, K., Drudi, L., Feyz, M., Rodrigue, N., & Razek, T. (2013). A descriptive study of bicycle helmet use in Montreal, 2011. Can J Public Health, 104(5), 1-10.
Hagel, B. E., & Yanchar, N. L. (2013). Bicycle helmet use in Canada: The need for legislation to reduce the risk of head injury. Paediatrics & Child Health, 18(9), 1-3.
Hooshmand, J., Hotz, G., Neilson, V., & Chandler, L. (2014). BikeSafe: Evaluating a bicycle safety program for middle school aged children. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 66, 182-186.
Lachapelle, U., Noland, R. B., & Von Hagen, L. A. (2013). Teaching children about bicycle safety: An evaluation of the New Jersey Bike School program. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 52, 237-249.
McKenzie, J.F., & Smelter, J. (2001). Planning, implementing, and evaluating health promotion programs: A primer (3rd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.
Theurer, W. M., & Bhavsar, A. K. (2013). Prevention of unintentional childhood injury. American Family Physician, 87(7), 12-15.
This paper focuses on the economic and societal impacts of the urban transportation and namely, on the way they can influence the city economy addressing the needs of the low-income areas and populations. In particular, this paper compares and contrasts between the economic and societal advantages and disadvantages of cars and bicycles (or e-bikes) in China, one of the world’s largest developing countries.
The situation is that bicycles used to be extremely popular in China at the beginning of the 2000s; however, this tendency has changed as the population became wealthier and able to afford cars. The report evaluates the capacities of the two methods of transportation in China and proposes options that could help the Chinese residents shift back from using primarily cars to the reliance on more sustainable means of transportation such as bicycles and e-bikes.
Background
As reported by The World Bank Group, the urban transportation strategies that were developed and applied at the beginning of the 2000s and the end of the 1990s was mainly orientated at the economic and financial preparedness of the cities but overlooked their livability, competitiveness, and the ways they are governed and managed (Carruthers, Dick, & Saurkar, 2005).
Economic Factors
Throughout the 1980s and till the beginning of the 2000s, a very high percentage of the Chinese population relied on bicycles as the key method of urban transportation (Cherry, 2007). This tendency persisted due to such economic factors as low levels of income and the absence of need for the population to travel long distances to get to workplaces. However, over the past decade, the pace of the urbanization has increased in China, and this phenomenon served as the key factor contributing to the motorization of the urban transportation (Yang, 2010).
Another powerful determinant of the urban motorization in the largest cities of China was the growth in the income level of the population. In particular, He, Huo, and Zhang (2003) report a massive growth in the GDP at the onset of the 2000s which has resulted in the rapidly increasing motor vehicle ownership among the domestic population which has been showing a steady increase of about 17% annually since 2001 (He, Huo, & Zhang, 2003; Ji, Cherry, Bechle, Wu, & Marshall, 2012).
Social Factors
China is known for the rapid increase in the population due to which Beijing is now one of the largest and densely populated cities in the world with the urban population of over 10 million people (Pucher, Peng, Mittal, Zhu, & Korattyswaroopam, 2007).
The rapid growth of the population combined with the economic development has resulted in the growth of the cities because more residents were willing to move there searching for employment (Yang, 2010). As a result, the average length of trips the residents of the Chinese cities had to make to get to work became much longer and facilitated the need for cars that started to replace bicycles. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the number of motor vehicles owned by the Chinese citizens grew ten times larger (Pucher et al., 2007).
Options
Cars
The rates of automobile ownership in China have not seen any growth prior to the 1980s regardless of the active population and city growth; however, the 1990s has shown a fast increase in the number of cars in the cities (Yang, 2010). It remains unclear what social factors that stimulate the car ownership in China. The households owning cars are located in all areas of the cities (those closer to and further from the center) (Yang, 2010). The fact that many car owners live rather close to their workplaces implies that cars in China are purchased not only as a practical tool but as a matter of pride and social status.
Bicycles and E-Bikes
As soon as bicycles proved inefficient in the expanding cities of China, the population has adopted e-bikes that currently outnumber conventional cars 2 to 1 (Ji et al., 2012). One Hundred million e-bikes were purchased in China over the last ten years, which is more than in all other states combined (Ji et al., 2012).
Requirements
Economic Factors
The new programs, including the one called Cities on the Move presented by The World Bank Group, targeted the developing cities focusing on their sustainability and the levels of poverty that could be addressed by means of the provision of better transportation. This approach assumed that one of the major issues of the depowered populations was their deprivation of opportunities due to the inability to reach the areas of their cities where they could pursue better education and careers. All in all, the popularity of urban transportation methods is influenced by multiple social and economic factors (Carruthers, et al., 2005).
Social Factors
The modern Chinese population is in need for a sustainable and safe mode of transportation. The increase in car ownership has resulted in the growing rates of road accident and deaths related to car crashes (Yulin, Liguang, Hongyang, & Runlong, n. d.). In terms of health impacts, the effect of e-bikes is unclear as they are powered by electricity and their use decreases the tailpipe emissions, but increases the emissions produced by the power plants (Ji et al., 2012).
Comparison
Cars
Cars are more effective in terms of speed, are able to carry heavy loads and more people; also, they indicate wealth and improve social position of the owners. The disadvantages are the tailpipe emissions, traffic jams, road accidents, high price and maintenance cost.
Bicycles and E-Bikes
Bicycles and e-bikes are cheaper to purchase and maintain than cars; also, they are treated as environmentally safer options, but for e-bikes, this statement is not supported by evidence (due to the higher electricity consumption). The use of e-bikes reduced the danger of road accidents and minimizes traffic problems. However, they are not as prestigious as the conventional cars.
Summary
Due to the high density of the Chinese population, bicycles and e-bikes are more appropriate as they prevent traffic jams and improve urban mobility. At the same time, regardless of all the advantages, bicycles are not suitable for the long-distance trips, so the residents favor cars. E-bikes solve the problem of distance but continue to inflict environmental concerns because of the power plant emissions. They are more suitable for the densely populated areas of the Chinese megacities as a method of avoiding traffic jams and road accidents.
Recommendations
The active adoption of e-bikes in China that occurred during the beginning of the 2000s happened due to multiple reasons – better mobility, convenience. Lower maintenance cost, and the perceived environmental friendliness. This method is more appropriate for the Chinese urban residents because of the following reasons: easier connection and reach of the city areas, no need to wait in traffic lines, better cost-effectiveness, and safer transportation.
The major disadvantage of the e-bikes is the pollution. However, compared to those produced by the conventional cars, the power plant emissions may be minimized if China embraces solar and wind energy generation and the use of solar power plants. To date, China is developing a set of policies and subsidies that would help the country embrace renewable energy to address multiple energy issues including the increase power plant emissions due to the use of e-bikes (NREL, 2004).
References
Carruthers, R., Dick, M., & Saurkar, A. (2005). Affordability of Public Transport in Developing Countries. The World Bank Report, 1-23. Web.
Cherry, C. (2007). Electric Bike Use in China and Their Impacts on the Environment, Safety, Mobility and Accessibility. UC Berkley Center for Future Urban Transport, Working Paper UCB-ITS-VWP-2007-3, 1-23. Web.
Ji, S., Cherry, C., Bechle, M., Wu, Y., & Marshall, J. (2012). Electric Vehicles in China: Emissions and Health Impacts. Environmental Science & Technology, 46, 2018−2024. Web.
Pucher, J., Peng, Z., Mittal, N., Zhu, Y., & Korattyswaroopam, N. (2007). Urban Transport Trends and Policies in China and India: Impacts of Rapid Economic Growth. Transport Reviews, 27, 1-61. Web.
Yang, J. (2010). Spatial and Social Characteristics of Urban Transportation in Beijing. Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2193, 59-67. Web.
Yulin, J., Liguang, F., Hongyang, W., & Runlong, X. (n. d.). Challenges and Policy Options for Sustainable Urban Transportation Development in China. Volvo Research and Educational Foundations, Task No. 048010, 1-16. Web.