Effects of Tire Construction on Reactive Forces in Bicycle Tires

Our research intends to further develop the model of the bicycle. Specifically, to understand how changing tire properties will affect the stability and handling of the bicycle as a whole. This iteration of our testing aims to evaluate the lateral forces and stiffness of the tire and rim through variation of riding parameters. We are testing a 700x23c Specialized road bike tire and a 700x30c Specialized road bike tire. The load will also be varied across both of these tires with a heavy and a light configuration. This makes for four dissimilar configurations. From previous experiences with a range of bicycle wheel parameters we would infer that as thickness of the tire and load increases so does its ease of deflection. It would also be expected that the narrowest configuration would deflect the least laterally, resulting in a larger force read by the sensors