"Unlocking" is like "opening a blind box"! Why are shared bikes so difficult to ride?

In recent years, shared bikes have become popular in many cities and have become an important choice for people's daily travel. However, with the sharp increase in the number of shared bikes, problems about shared bikes have also begun to emerge. Many people have expressed: Why do shared bikes feel more difficult to ride than ordinary bikes?

My butt is almost numb from riding a shared bike!

Every time I ride a shared bike, what I fear most is encountering uneven roads, especially manhole covers and speed bumps, which will definitely make me feel uncomfortable.

Why do shared bikes feel more vibration than ordinary bikes? Because they are less shockproof and the materials of their body and tires are different from those of ordinary bikes.

Unlike ordinary bicycles that use high-carbon steel bodies, most shared bicycles use aluminum alloy bodies, which are high in strength, durable, and not easily worn.

Relevant research shows that among the four materials of carbon fiber, titanium, steel and aluminum, because aluminum has poor shock absorption ability, when a shared bicycle vibrates, the vibration transmitted by the aluminum alloy body is the strongest, and people can feel obvious bumps.

On the other hand, ordinary bicycles use pneumatic tires, while most shared bicycles use solid tires.

The biggest advantage of using solid tires is that they can carry a large load, and there is no air, no blowout, and no nails. In automobiles, heavy vehicles such as forklifts, shovel trucks, and loaders often use this type of tire, and these vehicles are driven on internal roads such as factories and mines.

Image source: Pixabay

Shared bicycles use solid tires mainly to avoid tire blowouts, tire leaks and other wear and tear problems, thereby reducing the cost of tire repairs. In other words, solid tires are more durable than pneumatic tires.

However, in order to achieve the goal of being strong and wear-resistant, the rubber used to make solid tires is relatively harder and less elastic, and the tires are not filled with air to cushion vibrations, so their shock-absorbing capabilities are very poor.

Therefore, the aluminum alloy body and solid tires with weak shock absorption ability are the "culprits" for the bumpy feeling when you ride a shared bicycle.

Riding a shared bicycle uphill is really tiring !

Many people will find that riding a shared bike, especially uphill, is very strenuous and no matter how hard you pedal, you can’t pedal fast. There are actually two reasons for this.

Generally speaking, the weight of an ordinary bicycle is around 10-13kg, but shared bicycles use wear-resistant alloys and solid tires, so they generally weigh around 15-17kg. In other words, shared bicycles are heavier than ordinary bicycles.

Therefore, when parking is inconvenient, you can break into a sweat even if you just move your car.

So when climbing a hill, the gravity that you have to overcome when riding a shared bike is much greater than that of riding an ordinary bike, so you will naturally feel more tired going uphill.

In addition to being heavier, shared bicycles also have a smaller gear ratio than ordinary bicycles.

The transmission system of a bicycle is mainly composed of two types of gears: the active gear (also known as the chainring) and the passive gear (also known as the flywheel), which are connected together by a chain. The process of riding a bicycle is equivalent to pedaling the bicycle to rotate the chainring, which then drives the flywheel to rotate, causing the rear wheel to roll and drive the bicycle forward.

Generally, the number of teeth on the chainring is more than that on the flywheel, and the gear ratio is the gear ratio between the chainring and the flywheel. For example, a gear ratio of 4 means that one turn of the pedals can drive the wheel to turn 4 times.

In other words, if the gear ratio is small, the wheel will rotate less every time you pedal, and the bike will not go far. On the contrary, the larger the gear ratio, the more times the wheel rotates every time you pedal, and the bike will go farther.

For safety reasons, shared bicycles are designed to prevent users from riding too fast and causing traffic accidents, and to take into account the physical conditions of users of different age groups. The gear ratio is usually set smaller than that of ordinary bicycles.

Therefore, when you ride a shared bicycle uphill, although you keep pedaling, the distance traveled by the shared bicycle is far less than that of an ordinary bicycle. The uphill time is prolonged, and of course you feel more tired.

Shared bicycles are heavier than ordinary bicycles, and their gear ratios are smaller than ordinary bicycles, so you feel very tired when riding a shared bicycle uphill.

Riding a bike is like " opening a blind box ", with more shocks than surprises ?

Friends who like to ride a bicycle or have bought a bicycle themselves should all know that bicycles need regular maintenance. Depending on the frequency of use and mileage of the bicycle, the time interval can be as short as one or two weeks or as long as one or two months.

Short-term maintenance includes cleaning the body, cleaning and oiling the chain. The chainring, flywheel and other components in the transmission system also need to be disassembled and inspected, and dust and rust must be cleaned in time. Long-term maintenance requires further inspection of wheels, spokes, frames, handlebars and other components, and timely repair or replacement of deformed or severely rusted parts to maintain riding safety and comfort.

Compared with bicycles purchased by individuals, shared bicycles are used more frequently, have longer riding mileage, and are kept outdoors for a long time, so they should be maintained more promptly. However, when we randomly pick up a shared bicycle on the street and are ready to go on the road, we often get a "surprise" like "opening a blind box": either the handlebars are rusty, or the bell is broken and can't make a sound, or when riding, you can hear the sharp sound of the chain rubbing or the clicking noise.

This undoubtedly shows that the daily maintenance of shared bicycles is not satisfactory.

In order to save labor and material costs, shared bicycle operating companies have long suffered from a shortage of maintenance workers, low maintenance expenses, and repeatedly lowered maintenance standards. This has led to an alarming damage rate for shared bicycles, with many old vehicles basically struggling to meet the passing line of "barely rideable."

As a result, the shared bicycles, which already had poor hardware conditions, were made even worse by the poor maintenance.

Overall, the experience of using shared bicycles is indeed less than ideal compared to ordinary bicycles: they are more bumpy when riding, more difficult to climb hills, and due to lack of proper maintenance, they are damaged more frequently.

However, shared bikes do bring convenience to people’s lives in cities. Especially when you find yourself at an awkward distance from your destination—it’s a bit far to walk there, but taking a taxi or subway is not cost-effective, or there is no suitable station. Then the best option is to find a nearby “yellow”, “blue” or “green” bike, scan the QR code, and ride on.

However, no matter what means of transportation you take, the most important thing is to obey traffic rules and put safety first.

Source: Chongqing Science Writers Association

Author: Xu Yan

Audit expert: Li Hanbin

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