Thanks for the pointer. :)
I think the wheel rotates in the horizontal plane because there are no forces apart from the given force of constraint and because the force of gravity is not a force of constraint. What do you think? Isn't this also why we can safely say that the wheel rotates...
To be honest, I don't see how I've got things wrong with the time derivative. Of course, \dot{θ} differentiated wrt time becomes \ddot{θ}, right?
Also, isn't r constrained to be smaller than the radius of the wheel. Doesn't this have an effect on the solution?
Homework Statement
Consider a bead of mass m moving on a spoke of a rotating bicycle wheel. If there are no forces other than the constraint forces, then find the Lagrangian and the equation of motion in generalised coordinates. What is the possible solution of this motion?Homework Equations...