PONE-D-23-29914Simulation of non-stationary rolling resistance of bicycle tyres at various ambient temperaturesPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Rothhämel,

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A A Chowdhury, Ph.D., FHEA

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

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Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Partly

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: N/A

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The referred paper which studied the stationary model of rolling resistance is not accessible to be able to compare the two studies and comment about the level of novelty of the work. Some sentences need to be revised.

Reviewer #2: The results are interesting but more suitable for a lower level of dissemination, such as press articles and books, rather than a high-impact factor journal. This is because the level of research in this study is quite basic, and it relies on several assumptions. The study does not bring significant novelty or innovation for publication in a journal of this caliber where it was submitted.

All of the conclusions are expected, and it's something that almost anyone is already aware of. For example, it is a well-known fact that battery capacity decreases with temperature. It is common knowledge that cold tires cannot deform as much as warm ones, leading to increased rolling resistance. We are well aware that air density increases with decreasing temperature. There are studies that show that predicted speeds are slightly lower when the temperature is lower, and the difference is about 0.2 km/h for a 5°C decrease. An important point to consider is that even if the article were of a high standard, its relevance would still be quite limited. This is because, in reality, the temperature range in which someone is cycling is much narrower. While the most significant variation was observed at -30°C and -20°C, one should ask how many people opt for cycling when they have a car, especially at these extreme temperatures.

The final reviewer's conclusion is that this study adds very little novelty to the topic it addresses.

Reviewer #3: The article is devoted to Modeling the unsteady rolling resistance of a bicycle tire at different ambient temperatures. The model calculates the tire temperature based on heat transfer taking into account heating: that is, rolling resistance and cooling effect, convective and radiative cooling. A decrease in tire temperature leads to an increase in rolling resistance and a decrease in battery capacity, which was taken into account in the modeling. However, there are some comments regarding the work:

1. The Abstract section must be rewritten to reflect the relevance of the problem being solved and the scientific novelty of the solution obtained.

2. Keywords must be adjusted, highlighting special terms that characterize the study.

3. At the end of the Introduction section, it is necessary to determine the relevance and purpose of the scientific review.

4. The labels in Figure 1 should be made clearer as it is blurry.

5. The list of cited sources should include more modern publications on the energy of transport and technical systems, for example,

https://doi.org/10.3390/app10082879

https://doi.org/10.3390/math11102394

6. Figure 6 shows a graph of battery capacity changes. How can we explain the increase in capacity above the nominal value at fairly high temperatures near 60 degrees Celsius?

7. In the Discussion section, it is necessary to characterize the obtained models and the scientific results obtained, describe their advantages and disadvantages, and also give the limitations of the proposed model of rolling resistance at different ambient temperatures.

8. Conclusions must be structured, highlighting the main scientific and practical results obtained, supporting them with numerical results.

Reviewer #4: The concept of simulating non-stationary rolling resistance in electrically assisted bicycles is both important and innovative because it addresses a practical issue that is experienced by urban commuters. It is praiseworthy that a model was developed to simulate the resistance of tyres as a function of the temperature of the surrounding environment. It is beneficial, from a practical standpoint, for producers of electric bicycles as well as users of these bicycles to highlight the impact of ambient temperature on the capacity of the battery and the rolling resistance. Obtaining a complete picture of the elements that influence tyre temperature requires taking into account not just the ones that cause heating, such as rolling resistance, but also those that cause cooling, such as convective and radiative impacts.

Areas for Improvement:

A more in-depth discussion of the model, particularly how it models the dynamic changes in tyre resistance and battery capacity, would be beneficial to include in this article.

Although the results of the simulation are interesting and useful, the article would be improved if it included empirical validation or testing in the real world to validate the model's predictions.

It would be helpful to have a conversation about the significance of these findings for the design of bicycles in the future as well as how they relate to already available bicycles.

The essay needs to discuss the limitations of the model and suggest other avenues for research, which could involve varying types of weather or tyres, for example.

The article might be more user-focused if it contained a part that discussed how commuters can directly benefit from this research. This section could include suggestions for temperatures that are best for commuting or techniques to avoid the effects of cold weather.

It is possible that the comprehension of the findings, as well as their accessibility, could be improved by the addition of graphical representations of the simulation results.

The article offers a substantial contribution to our comprehension of how the surrounding temperature influences the performance of electrically assisted bicycles. By addressing these technical concerns, the paper could enhance and apply its findings, making it more valuable for academics and industry practitioners.

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Fatemeh Bahmani

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: Yes: Nikita V. Martyushev

Reviewer #4: No

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: plosone_review_rr.docx

PONE-D-23-29914R1Simulation of transient rolling resistance of bicycle tyres at various ambient temperaturesPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Rothhämel,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Mar 23 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Ashfaque Chowdhury, Ph.D., FHEA, FIEB

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

Reviewer #3: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #4: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: I am not convinced about the gain factor and still think it should be properly defined.

Also the English needs to be impoved.

Reviewer #3: In general, the authors have given an answer to my comments. And the necessary corrections were made in the text of the article.

The authors' response to my comment No. 6 should be added to the description of Figure 6 in the text of the article.

6. Figure 6 shows a graph of battery capacity changes. How can we explain the

increase in capacity above the nominal value at fairly high temperatures near 60

degrees Celsius?

Answer: The change in battery capacity is due to changes in molecular movements.

Higher temperatures increase molecular movement while lower temperatures decrease

it. The nominal capacity is merely a normalised value of battery capacity at room

temperature. Therefore, over this temperature, the battery capacity can increase over

the nominal value.

Reviewer #4: The authors properly responded to the comment given by the reviewers, as well as the manuscript has been modified accordingly. Now, this manuscript can be accepted for publication.

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #3: No

Reviewer #4: No

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[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Simulation of transient rolling resistance of bicycle tyres at various ambient temperatures

PONE-D-23-29914R2

Dear Dr. Rothhämel,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Ashfaque Ahmed Chowdhury, Ph.D., FHEA, FIEB

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE