Do e-scooters and the like self-balance in this way?
It would be cool to have self-balancing rollerblades.
It would be cool to have self-balancing rollerblades.
That gyroscopic effect of the wheel works well when the whole device is wheel (think hoop rolling), but when you start adding weight that's not spinning (like someone riding a scooter), the effect falls off.
Edit: it seems that neither the gyroscopic effect nor rake are sufficient to explain bicycles' self-stability: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-mass-skate_bicycle
The other way around -- the contact patch of the tire is behind the projection of the head tube onto the ground.
I love that there are actually three different stability mechanisms. I wonder if there are others!
At low speeds, a high-friction headset adds stability by damping the tendency to turn and flop.
At higher speeds, the reverse fork rake and spinning wheels provide stability.
This is my read on it, as someone that uses a 2Swift as a commuter vehicle, but the physics-based explanation may differ.