Question

A student is trying to reduce the mass of a racing bike to achieve greater acceleration. Which would be more beneficial to reduce (assuming each has identical mass)?

a. decrease mass in the frame

b. decrease mass in the wheels

c. decrease mass in the rider

d. these are all equal

Answer 1

b could help, but the rotational inertia involved is trivial, it hardly could be measured on linear acceleration difference.

Answer 2

Bob is right ... especially if the wheels have the same mass as the other components

it lowers the overall mass of the bike
PLUS
it reduces the peddling effort

a double benefit

Answer 3

If you get this question in your homework, the answer is the tires/wheels. Yes, the increase in linear acceleration wouldn't be that much greater by reducing the mass of the wheels, but it still increases the acceleration by some.