Abstract
This paper presents an investigation on the braking performance and safety for a bicycle riding on a straight and an inclined paths. The equations of motion for a wheel model as well as the model for ideal synchronous braking are derived to acquire the shortest braking distance and improve the riding stability. The optimal design of the bicycle braking is obtained based on the simulation results with various bicycle geometries, ratios of brake force, and road friction. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.