Human on a Bicycle

Revisiting a classic graphic on the efficiency of motion

- TEXT BY ALLISON PARSHALL GRAPHIC BY DTAN STUDIO

HUMANS AREN'T VERY EFFICIENT movers—until you put us on a bicycle, when we become some of the most energy-efficient land travelers in the animal kingdom.

For Scientific American's 180th birthday, we've updated a classic graphic comparing different forms of animal locomotion, first published in this magazine in 1973.