Tags | |
Bike Speed from Power calculates the speed of a bicycle from the maximum power output that the rider can supply. The forces are:
- Gravity "drag": the weight experienced pulling a bike either backwards or forwards, due to the grade;
- Friction: due to the weight of the bike and rider, and the rolling friction coefficient; and
- Drag: the force due to wind and the motion of the bike through the air.
The inputs for the calculator are:
- Power (P): Maximum output power the rider can supply. Default is 100 W.
- Road grade (G): enter in percent. Default is 0 % grade. Positive is upslope, negative is downslope. If you enter too high a negative value, you'll get a nonsenical answer.
- Wind speed (vw): positive is a head wind, negative a tail wind. Default is 0 mph
- Friction coefficient (μ): Used in calculating friction force. Default is 0.008, which is for narrow, high pressure tires. Use a larger value for lower pressure or wider tires
- Rider mass (mr): Mass of the rider. Default value is 70 kg (about 155 lbs)
- Bike mass (mb): Mass of the bike. Default value is 14 kg (about 30 lbs) (Yes, this is high for modern bikes.)
- Rider area (A): Projected frontal area of rider. Default is 0.4 square meters. (For those with technical knowledge, I'm assuming a drag coefficient of 1.)
The output is vm, the. maxiumum bike speed given these parameters. Default units are mph.