Stationary bicycles need support to stop from falling over because they lack gyroscopic stabilization. Right?
If you ride a free bicycle on a treadmill (so both wheels are spinning) will it fall over or stay upright?
If you fall over on a treadmill, does it matter if this treadmill bicycle combo is on a train?
It will not fall over, although it is more difficult to keep upright. You can get bicycle “treadmills” (rollers) which let you ride in place similar to a stationary bike.
Tacx, the company that make those rollers, also make a bike trainer treadmill! (video review demonstrating them)
If I have one of these in my house and I go off the side would I crash right into the wall in front of me?
No, the energy in the wheels isn’t enough to accelerate the bike and your body very much. Either the wheels will spin without traction or you’ll lurch a little forward, or some combination of the two.
You can see the effect by lifting your rear wheel off the ground and spinning the tire up then dropping the bike back to the ground. The ground basically just acts like a brake.
Ah ok that makes sense.
Unlikely. You would still be accelerating your mass from zero, and you’d have plenty of time to stop pedaling. If you did it would be an extremely low-speed crash.
I’d say that riding off the side would be pretty likely to cause a loss of control though.
so still might want to wear a helmet, at least if you’re not very experienced
That would be wise, as well as having an assistant or a wall/doorway nearby to steady you.
Yes! The gyroscopic force of the bike will completely bypass the braking force of the ground and will be transferred directly onto your body, forcing you to cartwheel like a sideways helicopter into the wall in front of you. Beware! Bewaare!
This is what I imagine in my mind, but since I don’t see hundreds of YouTube videos of this happening, I guess that’s not how it works.