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"The bicycle as we know it today, with two similarly sized wheels and a chain drive system, was originally commercialized by John Starley and William Sutton in 1885. And since then, nothing better has been invented in terms of energy efficient travel."
https://www.statista.com/chart/28710/energy-efficiency-of-modes-of-transport/
#BikeTooter #Cycling #ClimateChange #ClimateSolutions #Statista
(moving this post from my old account)
@dcbikeguy Someone should do measurements on modern rollerblades. (100mm+ hard wheels with good bearings) I wonder how it would compare to cycling and walking.
@szakib @dcbikeguy well, wind powered vehicles are better in terms of energy efficiency. They are less convenient though. Also, in some terrains, cycling gets difficult. So I assume this chart is for urban transport? Electric cars at only 10x the electric cycle also suggest an urban, low speed, constraint.
Edit: the source tells it actually : it is for urban transport.
Garden @natchouf @szakib @dcbikeguy If you pedal-only cycle at the cruising speed of the eBike, the eBike is also way more efficient, due to the low energy efficiency of complex human food chain versus elec production*, and the vast amount extra you would need to eat to cycle in this way as the wind and rolling drag losses become exponentially greater.
*As someone who does #growYourOwn and harvest their own #pv electricity for their #eBike, this is particularly poignant.
@dcbikeguy Hmm, on my flat round trip school run this morning I averaged 13.5 km/h, which is a bit below my typical speed for the route, but not much.
I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to work out the energy in 1km in Wh.
Normally I consider energy burned in kcals, rather than Wh. Both fitbit and Strava reckon my 8.97km this morning burned around 233 kcal. Which if I just chuck that in a converter and then divide by 8.97km would be 30Wh per km. Even if I subtract the calories I would have burned anyway at rest during that time (around 45) that's still around 24Wh.
Strava also reckons I was working at 45W average power, but I don't know how it estimates that. The trip took 40 minutes, so each km took about 4.5 minutes, then that would be about 3.4 Wh per km ?
I don't know how to reconcile those numbers! A random cycling converter webpage suggests that at 45W I should only be burning around 105kcal per hour! I am now trying to resist the urge to get a power meter, which would be ridiculous for a transport/leisure cyclist! :)
@dcbikeguy FWIW I absolutely don't disagree that cycling is a brilliant and very efficient method of transport, even if I can't make the numbers make sense to me today :) I wouldn't swap my bike commute for a car.
@dcbikeguy
>The bicycle is the noblest invention of mankind.” — William Saroyan, Nobel prize winner