Post
I love this chart. The simple truth is that road wear isn't caused equally by all road users, and it isn't even a linear relationship to vehicle mass.
It's GEOMETRIC.
Estimates of road wear use the FOURTH power of axle load.
https://roaddamagecalculator.com/how-it-works
Me + my bike, fully loaded: 200Kg
Toyota RAV4, dry mass: 1500Kg, 2 axles
2 * (7504) / 2004 ≈ 395
Nearly FOUR HUNDRED TIMES more road damage. Be serious.
Chart credit: Ben Durham https://youtube.com/watch?v=JVD32ZC-784
I apologise for Ben's fatphobic chart language. As a fat them on a freakishly heavy bike, I don't condone it but I do represent it.
My calculation was the most generous interpretation, for drivers. Rider weight excluded for the RAV4 but not the bike. I interpreted axle load to mean wheel pairs, but it's more accurate to treat both vehicles as 2 axle.
The technically accurate calculation:
2 x (7504) / 2 x (504) ≈ 50625x
Drivers should give $2 to every cyclist they meet, on principle.
A space for Bonfire maintainers and contributors to communicate
