The Simplicity of a Bicycle

A bicycle is a two-wheeled, lightweight machine, which is propelled by human power. The rider who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist. I know that you may be knowing all this, but as you read ahead, there are various other facts that make a bicycle the best vehicle ever made.


1) The most efficient machine

A bicycle is the most efficient machine ever built. In case you may not know, efficiency is the input energy divided by the output energy. In numbers, a well maintained bicycle is about 98% efficient. Other vehicles, such as cars, are just about 30% efficient. This means that about a third of the total energy input of a car is utilized in it's motion. On the other hand, a bicycle has the minimum energy losses. That means that almost all of your calories are getting converted into forward motion when you ride!

2) You know what bicycle you are buying
It may seem obvious that you, as the customer, are aware of what you are buying. But, this not always the case. I mean, when you buy any automotive, you may ask the dealer about the certain specs, like horsepower, torque, number of cylinders in the engine, airbags, etc. but in a bicycle, there are no such specs available. The only questions you can ask are about the types of bearings used, geometry, and frame material. You can literally see the rest of the bicycle without opening any boot or bonnet. You can even judge the engine yourself, as you yourself are the engine of the bicycle! So, there's nothing hidden from you.

3) Repairs are easy (and experimental!)
I personally learnt to repair my bicycle by tightening and loosening random bolts and seeing what difference it made to it (and I'm not lying). Whenever my experimentation resulted in a totally broken bicycle, I just took it to the repair shop by dragging it along. If you experiment with a car, you might end up having it towed to the nearest mechanic available. Therefore, it is a lesser hassle to get a bicycle repaired than to get any automotive repaired. It is easy on the wallet too.

4) Popularity
Nowadays, there are many people who drive to various places and make vlogs. But viewers eventually loose interested in something anyone can do. You just need to have a license and a good driving skill to drive. I am not offending anyone. If someone vlogs about their bicycle adventures, the viewers may be keen to see how the person toils through the journey, that too with his own leg power. Also, cyclists face a lot more than motorists. Cyclists battle the wind, mad drivers, insects and a lot more. Hence, people become more interested in seeing that type of a journey.

5) Childhood memories
If you go down the memory lane, into your childhood, you may see yourself riding a bicycle at some point of time. Some of the best memories are created by a bicycle. You may remember a great adventure you had on it along with your friends. You may have fallen down, and may still have the scars from that accident ever since. So, it feels great to go back and enjoy what you used to do and relive those moments.

6) Environmental effect
I have saved the most common one for the end. A bicycle is an eco-friendly way of transportation. It doesn't consume petrol or diesel. And by doing so, it doesn't have to burn them for power and pollute our mother Earth's atmosphere. It doesn't create carbon and hence reduces global warming and your carbon footprint. However, a bicycle is also not 100% eco-friendly. I mean to say that pollution does occur in manufacturing of a bicycle and it's parts. But this much pollution is negligible if you see the total pollution emission in a bicycle's whole life, from factory to furnace (after it cannot be ridden anymore).

Conclusion:
So, if you want to ride a bicycle, it's a great idea to do so. You will have a lot of fun, it will be good exercise, and it will be easy to repair. You can gain popularity, and still, have a less carbon footprint.

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned!