Physics

Tania Phelps

16 April, 02:44

Consider two bicycle riders, A and B. The two riders have equal masses Mrider A = Mrider B and their respective bicycles also have similar frames, Mframe A = Mframe B. Finally, the wheels of the two bicycles have equal masses Mwheel A = Mwheel B and equal radii R wheel A = R wheel B but different mass distributions: the wheels of bike A have most of their masses at the rims, Wheel A, while the wheels of bike B have their masses 'spread' evenly over the whole wheel area, Wheel B. The two cyclists travel at the same speed on level ground. They approach a low hill and decide to coast up instead of hard pedalling. At the top of the hill, which of the two bikes will have a larger speed? Assume no friction nor air resistance, and all the wheels roll on the ground without slipping.