Backwards bicycle

[projekktor id=’21918′]

A researcher at Brock University has created a bicycle with one simple modification and it’s challenging even the most expert riders. It’s like any ordinary bike, except the gears have been swapped so turning the handle bars one way actually sends the wheel in the opposite direction. It’s a test of patience, and how our adult brains adapt.

Robert McGray is a professor in Brock University’s faculty of education. He built the backwards bicycle to help understand how adults learn. The gears are swapped so turning the handlebars right sends the front wheel to the left and vice versa.

So far it is stumping even expert cyclists. “My plan was to look at the wheel, not the handlebars and just focus on where the wheel was going. but it didn’t work, it didn’t help.” said avid cyclist Emily Allan.

Of the dozens of hopefuls who have tried the bike, not a single one has succeeding in pedalling even a few feet. McGray says it proves that learning is about more than retaining information.

“For a very long time in education we thought if you just convey the right information to people, they’ll get it in their heads. That if you can get the information into someone’s head, if you can transmit that knowledge, then that’s what learning is.”

Though all riders understood the instructions, no one could train their body to override existing turning tendencies. And many became frustrated by their failure.

The inspiration for Brock’s backwards bike came from a man in the USA. He finally learned to ride his after trying for about 5 minutes every day for 8 months.