In this section of the module you will be analyzing the forces
which develop in the internal members of a bicycle frame. Bicycle
frame designers are aware of a number of factors which affect how the
rider's forces are carried by the tubes. Discuss the following
questions with other students as you try to understand what the
factors are that affect the design and subsequent performance of
bicycle frames.
In your experience, do all bicycle frames look the same? Why do you
think there are so many different designs? How significantly does the
geometry of the frame affect the loading? Which tubes do you think
normally carry high forces? Are all of the bicycle tubes the same size
and shape?
What might be a possible simple method that you could use to analyze
the forces that develop in bicycle tubes? What type of structure does
a bicycle frame resemble?
As you will ultimately see, the analysis on the next page is performed
by treating the bicycle as a truss structure. However, a bicycle frame
is not truly a truss for a number of reasons. What are these reasons?
To put it another way, what types of assumptions must be made in order
to analyze the bicycle frame loading as a truss structure? Consider
some of the following: