Why is cycling on clay very effortless?
When riding a bike on soft clay, two tires appear to be deflated, pedaling very hard. What is the reason?
Think about it, when you walk on the snow-covered ground or the muddy ground, doesn’t it feel hard to take steps? When the footsteps on the snow or mud, the weight of the human body presses on an area the foot’s size. Meanwhile, the foot generates a relatively large pressure on the ground. Because the elastic coefficient and the gender limit of snow or mud are extremely small, under the influence of not very large pressure, that is also a large deformation and can not restore the original shape. So the feet immediately sank into the snow or the soft clay. So, when you want
If you lift your foot, you cannot help but raise your foot higher than usual. So you feel quite effortless.
The same goes for bicycles on loose clay. Due to the wheel pressure on the soil, the clay is forced into a deep groove. So when the car wants to go, to lift the bicycle wheel from the groove first. Besides, the softer the clay, the deeper the wheel will sink, the greater the deep groove’s resistance to the oncoming vehicle. The amount of thrust needed to get the vehicle going is also greater. All of these factors require a greater force to be put on the vehicle’s pedestal. Therefore, cycling on loose clay is very exhausting.
