The Bicycle Brake By: Drishti Lakhi DraftingB-Day Period 1

What is a Lever? A lever is a simple machine that makes work easier for us. It involves moving a load around a pivot, or fulcrum, using a force. The force you apply is called the effort. The lever moves at another point to raise a weight or overcome a resistance, both of which are called the load. The distances moved by the effort and load depend on how far they are from the fulcrum. The principle of levers, which relates the effort and the load, states that the effort times its distance from the fulcrum equals the load times its distance from the fulcrum.

The Three Different Basic Kinds of Levers First-class levers are levers in which the fulcrum is always placed between the effort and the load. If the fulcrum is closer to the load, then the lever will require less effort to raise the load. The lever magnifies the force applied to it. Second-class levers are levers in which the fulcrum is at one end of the bar or rod and the effort is applied to the other end. The load to be raised lies between them. This kind of lever always magnifies force but decreases the distance moved. Third-class levers are levers in which the fulcrum is (again) at one end of the lever but this time the positions of the load and effort are reversed. The load to be raised is furthest away from the fulcrum, while the effort is applied between the fulcrum and the load. This kind of lever always magnifies the distance moved but reduces the force.

The Bicycle Brake (History) When was the Bicycle Brake invented? It was invented in the 1890’s (October 1898) Who Invented the Bicycle Brake? Harry Pond Townsend invented the bicycle brake in Facts  Townsend filed the application in October of 1898 and assigned it to the New Departure Manufacturing Company of Bristol.  Because New Departure lacked the equipment to produce Townsend’s design, it contracted with New Britain’s Corbin-Screw Corporation in December of 1898 to produce the first 5,000 brakes. By 1899 Corbin- Screw had started to make brakes of its own design and New Departure moved production to their own facilities.  On April 9, 1907, Harry Pond Townsend patented the driving and braking mechanism for cycles.

How Does the Bicycle Brake Make Work Easier? Just a little effort with our hands, we can quickly stop a bicycle, undoing all the effort made by our feet in getting a bicycle up to speed. Each brake on a bicycle consists of a set of three levers. This transmits the force with which each hand grips its brake lever to the brake blocks which, in turn, rub against the rims of the wheels. Each handle magnifies the grip force several times. The two arms of each brake press the blocks to the rims, producing sufficient friction to slow and stop the bicycle.

The Three Different Levers on a Bicycle Brake The Brake Handle The first lever in a bicycle brake is the brake handle. The handle pulls the cable connecting the handle to the brake. It is a second-class lever. The end of the handle moves a greater distance than the cable, which is pulled with more force than the force exerted by the hand. The Brake Arms The second and third levers in a bicycle brake are the two brake arms. The cable moves up and pulls the two arms together. One arm is a third-class lever and the other a first-class lever. They transfer the magnified force to the brake bodies.

Works Cited Macaulay, David, and Neil Ardley. The New Way Things Work. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Print. "ConnecticutHistory.org." ConnecticutHistoryorg The Coaster Brake Today in History April 9 Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar "CYCLE BRAKES: 1898, A New Departure." The Online Bicycle Museum. N.p., 18 Aug Web. 15 Mar "The History of Bicycle Brakes." Off The Beaten Path. N.p., 03 May Web. 15 Mar "Them’s the Brakes." Classic Cycle Bainbridge Island Kitsap County. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar