how often do you think about how stupidly efficient bicycles are?

@zuthal at least once a week

I also wonder where "human in wheelchair" falls in that diagram, lol

@antimu0n I'd guess somewhere between "human" and "human on bicycle"

you still have the efficiency improvement of wheeled locomotion meaning you don't need to bounce your center of mass up and down

but a wheelchair isn't geared, so you need to move you hands at the same speed you want to go, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is typically more deadweight and friction too

for really efficient locomotion for someone who can't use their legs you'd want some sort of hand-crank-powered recumbent bicycle which thinking about it i am pretty sure already exists

also related to that i remember seeing in a movie about the french revolution an early wheelchair that was powered by two hand cranks, one on each armrest

@zuthal behold, za power of wheel is roumd

@byte wheel is roumd

and chains and gears let the wheels move a lot faster than the pedals

which is useful because human legs can make a lot more torque than is required to move at the speeds human legs can comfortably move it

@zuthal Do you have the source? I would like to read it.
@dragonfi Apparently, it is from an article by an S. S. Wilson in the March 1973 issue of Scientific American
@zuthal But think about a fruit fly on a bicycle 😀
Doesn't account for the calories it takes to pave and maintain the road. But yeah
@zuthal
Ok this is from Bicycling Technology by S.S. Wilson, a … 1973 paper apparently. Any idea if this type of study has been reproduced more recenty?