What do bicycles have to do with the "media" section of the newspaper? As many of you will know, the highway code - art 50 - includes in the vehicle family too, bicycles, that is, both electrically assisted pedaling and traditional muscular power vehicles.
But there is an even stronger and more ancient link between this mobility tool and the military world, a link that the US Army has wanted to revalue today thanks to the progress of lithium batteries.
Bersaglieri Battalion
Bersaglieri friends will know what we are talking about, given that the first was established in the 1898 cyclist battalion of the Royal Army, which on the Tagliamento in the 1916, even received a bronze medal for military valor.
With excellent mobility and practically unstoppable, they followed the soldier of the time everywhere, adapted and set up both in the troop version and for the officers, the latter intuitively more comfortable, with gear and spring under the seat.
The best-known had the Bianchi brand - for example the A1903, the 12 - and at the time they had full tires without a tube with a total weight of the chassis only and wheels around the 35 kilograms.
Interesting was coaster braking on some versions, a very efficient and virtually maintenance-free system, but among the most operational aspects there was the possibility of using it as a support for machine guns and grenade launchers, as well as folding it for carrying on the shoulder.
You will probably remember the article where we talked about the Simms quadricycle from 1898 (link), the vehicle that many claim to have been the first "armored wheel" in history.
It is said that the film production company William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with the series The Flintstones, did not sympathetically take inspiration from the first muscle-powered vehicles by also browsing the historical pages of our bersaglieri rather than the patents of the Englishman Frederick Richard Simms, creator of the armored quadricycle.
From Special Forces to parachutists through simple infantry
We could argue that the United States Armed Forces have never fully cleared the bicycles from their parking lots, replacing them with the most comfortable militarily adapted motorcycles.
Besides, like it or not, it is always the overseas Armed Forces supported by investments of 649 billion - the 36% of global spending - to draw up the most reliable guidelines in the field of war. They have been with the Mrap platform, with the classification and use of vehicles, uniforms, but also for training, telecommunications, procedures and methods of intelligence; the list is long and certainly conditioning for the countries affiliated to NATO.
The modern and folding ones Montague for example, in their simplicity they are Mountain Bikes designed and perfected by aerospace engineering using light materials that would increase the unit cost in the order of ten thousand euros.
They are supplied, based on the type of mission, to the American paratroopers, who once on the ground would have the possibility of a rapid departure from the area discovered but, considering the extreme versatility of a bicycle, also the infantry would benefit from it for the discovery outside an area or military camp outside the area. In Afghanistan (photo) they were not missed.
Twenty-four gears, disc brakes, rackstand for small transports and air suspension are the basic package for bikes that, in addition to keeping staff fit, are tactically silent. But there is more, in fact in the era of lithium batteries, even the armed forces in some ways are adapting to this resource. It is no secret that, at the Eurosatory 2018 biennial, some 4x4 or 6x6 vehicles attracted military visitors, among them were VAB medium armored vehicles with dual fuel, diesel and electric, such as Arquus Scarabee by Renault.
The issue of electricity in the military is quite controversial, perhaps considering the amperages involved, the possibility of wading or possible radiation and interference, but with the upcoming June 2020 show, we will update you on the electrification of military mobility.
Returning to our military bike, or rather to the variant with electric motor, E-Bike with 4kw engine and a speed of 70 km / h thanks to a rechargeable 1.600 Wh battery pack in three hours, we could say that at least for the moment we reached the optimum if we consider an autonomy of 100 kilometers on the mixed. With a cost of around twenty thousand euros per piece, aeronautical materials, 14 automatic electro reports and interaction with computerized systems, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth digital control fly by wire, this faithful soldier's companion could also be destined for some European departments and even Italian.
The load is also incredible: it can withstand a quintal and a half in use. So a lot of stuff, more if we make a comparison with our dear, old "Graziella" ...
Electric bicycle? Lots of torque and exceeds the moped
Electric motors as we know immediately generate a great deal of torque compared to endothermic propulsion. An invisible concept but perceptible from the performance of these rotors, just think of an elevator. Its load limit is mostly structural and safety, but its electric motor always drives with the same speed even if it absorbs more.
The magazine Business Insider has published an experiment that is unbelievable. An electric sports bike with 48 volt battery, 750 watt motor and special wide tires, managed to move an SUV sedan (clearly with gearbox in neutral).
Who knows how many of you have had Piaggio Hello or something similar to pedals, well then the electro-bikes are fully included with even higher performances, given the supply of the couple, like the undisputed heirs of our scooters.
Ecological, they are included in today's sustainable urban mobility but also, as we have seen, in that military tactic from which it cannot be excluded that improvements and expedients may arise that will be convertible tomorrow for civil use.
As has happened for many other discoveries including amphibious vehicles (v.articolo).
If the kids of the 80 years were able to improvise power changes to their scooters, with this type of vehicle, the interventions are less demanding, it is enough to act on the capacity and duration of the batteries, on the reductions and little else, to adapt our bike based on usage and personal needs.
Among the two-wheeled cycles I pleasantly remember the sympathetic French Velosolex, the motor bike with motor and traction on the front wheel using a lever that turned it into a moped by bike.
Electro change implemented
In common jargon it makes more scene to present it as an automatic transmission even if we talk about a bicycle. This is the traditional gearbox with cable controls, which acted on the rear sprockets and front crowns. The derailment controls are however managed by a lever operated by an electric motor, so cables and maintenance disappear.
It is not clear (even if it could be taken for granted) if the addition of an inclinometer and stress gauge to the crank arm to this electro-system, one can guess autonomously the most suitable ratio for the cyclist. The fact is that the changes take place by acting on a sort of paddle or buttons without risk of unleashing during the journey.
In rescue and safety the bicycle is the favorite
If among the most faded memories that associate the uniform to the bicycle there are our bersaglieri or maybe the metronotte, it is good to remember that the police but also the Italian Red Cross, have identified for practicality to the most capillary interventions maybe in areas banned from traffic, just bicycles as healthy and extremely versatile vehicles. An idea, already used on the California coast patrolled by the CHP, the state police.
If this type of short-range mobility is proving to be successful for rescue and safety, we must underline a behavior that is not very attentive to the road code by some groups of cycling groups that sometimes occupy the whole road without going in line. Indian keeping the right. An annoying custom but in this regard it is good to remember that the breaches to the CdS with a velocipede, are however sanctionable even if there are no ancillary sanctions, or the deduction of points, which would result in a disparity between those who own the license and those who do not.
Another note that is worth remembering in terms of traffic regulations is the distance of at least one and a half meters from the cyclist in the event of overtaking and the prohibition to cross pedestrian crossings by pedaling on the velocipede.
The speed and front dimensions are among the causes of numerous accidents with motor vehicles.
Photo: Montague / web / Vanalmond / Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga)
