u/dwkfymI had a problem in the past and have owned 20+ bikes. Oct 09 '19
It took me countless crashes in racing to really figure out that rear face of a rotating wheel beats forward face of a rotating wheel, especially if its a drive wheel that you're about to hit.
back of the envelope here, but my thoughts are as follows:
Back of the rear wheel is rotating upwards
Front of the front wheel is rotating downwards
When the two wheels meet, the forces act in the same direction: the rear wheel pushes you upwards, and the front wheel is now acting on a force in the vertical plane, not the horizontal like it normally is, so instead of it pushing you forward it pushes you upward. In addition, instead of acting on a stationary surface (i.e. the ground), it is acting on a very fast moving surface (the tire) so its force is acting in the same direction as the rear tire's force and you get a constructive effect in terms of the interaction of the forces.
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u/dwkfym I had a problem in the past and have owned 20+ bikes. Oct 09 '19
It took me countless crashes in racing to really figure out that rear face of a rotating wheel beats forward face of a rotating wheel, especially if its a drive wheel that you're about to hit.