Cycling Comfort on Different Winter Road Conditions

Abstract

Transportation by cycling has several benefits for the society, but the share of cyclists is decreased during winter in cold regions. Reduced cycling comfort is one of the problems caused by the winter conditions. Cycling comfort on bare roads can be measured by analysis of vibrations transmitted to the cyclist, where the correlation between vibrations and comfort is clear. Accelerometers are commonly used for this. However, there is no clear relation between cycling comfort and vibrations on winter conditions. A better understanding of the factors that affects cycling comfort on winter conditions is therefore of interest. A bicycle instrumented with a sensor consisting of an accelerometer and a gyroscope was ridden on different winter conditions. The sensor was placed on the bicycle stem to measure angular velocities of the handlebars, related to steering and balancing the bicycle. Measurements of angular velocity around the x-axis had the highest correlation with perceived comfort. The parameter was found to be better suited for comfort analysis on winter conditions than vibrations. The depth of loose snow was the most important parameter of the surface condition related to cycling comfort. However, the depth of compacted snow influenced cycling comfort as well. Therefore, requirements for total depth of snow on bicycle lanes is of essence when facilitating for winter cycling. Better knowledge of cycling comfort on winter conditions can be applied to optimize winter maintenance of bicycle lanes, which can ensure comfortable cycling conditions during winter.