Originally Posted by skydive69
Also, you might point out that vehicles have a considerable impact on roads - fluid drips, wearing down asphalt. What impact does my 16.25 pound bicycle have on the same roads?
Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that POUND FOR POUND cyclists probably do more damage to the roads. We use much higher tyre pressures so at the interface between the tyres and the road we will be placing a higher per square inch normal load. Also, in my observation, cyclists accellerate much more quickly than most cars so we are also introducing a higher shear force at the surface.