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Urban Arrow- an electric assist bakfiets design

You may remember the Cannondale Dutchess concept bike, which was designed by Wytze van Mansum a few years ago. That bike was a student project, but after his graduation Wytze was contacted by two entrepreneurs, Gerald van Weel and Jorrit Kreek, and asked to design an updated bakfiets. Wytze points out that what really interested him about the project was the aim… “ to replace the 2nd car”.

After 9 months of design work and testing, they presented a pre-production prototype of the electric assist ‘Urban Arrow’ and were nominated for a Eurobike award. If you are at Eurobike this week, you will see Wytze’s prototype (pictured here) on display at the entrance to the show. He points out that the prototype is just that, so some of the parts are not up to the final production standard. “The production box will come from a single mold, providing a smooth surface. The box seen in this pre-production model is milled from different plates of the material. The chaincase will eventually be fully closed and a hub dynamo will power the lights. And of course it still needs some decals.”

Wytze described the bike’s features to me in detail, so I want to pass along much of that description in his own words (with minor edits from me):

“-Assisted: With the electric assist you can get around a busy town faster than by car, taking with you up to 180kg of cargo and without sweating (Not everybody has the legs of a pro cyclist, after all). We chose a mid engine; powering the cranks. This way the power is on the correct wheel (rear) and the bike has a closed chain case with maintenance free reliable hub gear. An additional advantage is that the motor also profits from the gears, like in a car. Put it in first gear and you can ride up any hill effortlessly. I am very pleased with our engine choice; this thing is simply a silent beast.

- Lightened: It has a stiff aluminum frame with a lightweight EPP cargo box. EPP is a recyclable, but durable foam. A bit like what the inside of your helmet is made of, except that this stuff won’t break on impact. 60mm (2.5″) of high dense foam adds some extra safety.

- Practical: Gerald and Jorrit both ride their young children around by bike in Amsterdam, as do all of their friends. So we had an extensive list of things we’d wanted to add to the practicality of the bakfiets. Things like:

-         A rain cover that is always present on the bike (in the future it will cover the parent also). Designed by Renske Solkesz

-         Easy access in and out for the children

-         Cup holders and a grocery net

-         A fixed bolted seatpost (to prevent saddle theft) that still can be easily adjusted in height

-         A removable box, transforming it to a flat-bed cargo bike.

-         Comfortable (and more puncture proof) balloon tires

Design: For the design, I have tried to get more unity throughout the whole bike, and like the Dutchess, most of the forms originate simply from logic. The frame encapsulates the motor and chain, creating a unique frame design. The curved tubes around the top of the box are for protection of the box and of children fingers hanging over the rim of the box. They also provide storage room for the rain cover poles and a lock or pump. Because the box is made in a mold we were able to incorporate some fun functionalities like the cup holders.”

The prototype looks great, and I am looking forward to seeing this bike in production. The website for the Urban Arrow is not up yet, but it will be later this week. Check back for more information about the bike…and look for it at Eurobike if you are in Friedrichshafen.

Posted in Commuter, E-bike, Tradeshows, Utility.

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By James T – August 31, 2010

Vuelo Velo

It is hard to believe it is that time of year already, but Eurobike will be kicking off this Wednesday. If you are in Friedrichshafen later this week, you will most likely notice the curved seattube bikes from the Australian company Vuelo Velo (check out the about section of their website for a little background).

Vuelo Velo will be displaying their bikes in the Tune booth at the show. To coincide with the launch of the new Tune Smart-foot cranks,  Vuelo Velo will be displaying a special Di2 frame with an 85 mm wide Pressfit BB30 bottom bracket shell.

Posted in Road, Tradeshows.

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By James T – August 30, 2010

2011 BMC Impec

This post would have been timelier last month during the Tour when Cadel Evans and George Hincapie were first riding the new BMC ‘impec’. I planned to post about it at the time, but as so often happens it sort of slipped through the cracks. Though it is not exactly a breaking story at this point, the new bike from BMC is still worth a mention on this blog for a couple of reasons. BMC touts the impec (short for impeccable bike) as the “first entirely machine manufactured carbon frame in the world.” Unlike conventional laminated carbon frames, which are laid-up and glued together by hand, the carbon tubing on the impec is woven by a patented robotic loom, which BMC specifically developed for frame construction to achieve precise load-bearing properties for each of the tubes. According to BMC, the robotic tube weaving “rules out human error and guarantees constant, millimetric precision.”

Compressed carbon composite half-shells with “a high proportion of extra-long carbon fibers” are used to join the machine woven tubes of the impec.  The “Shell Node Concept” as BMC calls it (I would probably just call them lugs) makes for an interesting visual frame design that is quite different from other high-end carbon road bikes on the market.

The impec will be available to the public in September. Each bike will be custom built for private buyers, who will be fitted for the bikes at BMC dealers. For more information about the bike, including available build options, check out Bike Radar’s first look.

Update 9/2/10: The impec just won a Eurobike gold award. More on that at Bike Biz.

Posted in Road.

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By James T – August 26, 2010

New bikes from Biomega

I usually like the work of Ross Lovegrove, or at the very least I usually find his sculptural designs interesting. The clean, organic forms of his product and furniture designs are often pretty clever and original. That is why I was a bit underwhelmed when I saw his first bicycle design for Biomega, the Bamboo. Lovegrove’s latest design for Biomega though, called the LDN (short for London), looks a lot more like something I would expect from him. Overall, the form is not groundbreaking, but I like the way the shaft drive nestles into the carbon chainstay.  The hole in the frame lightens the bike’s mass and, according to the company, provides a detail for hanging the bike on a wall for storage. Like it or not, you have to admit that this one finally looks like a Lovegrove bike.

The other new bike from Biomega, the NYC, was designed by KiBiSi, a design firm co-founded by Biomega founder, Jens Martin Skibsted. The bike is similar in styling to their CPH model, but it features a carbon belt drive and an integrated front mudguard in the shape of the aluminum downtube.

The LDN bicycle will be displayed next month at the SHOWHOW design exhibition in Tent London (September 23rd to 26th 2010) and both new bikes will be presented at the Eurobike and Interbike shows in September.

Update: Read the full Biomega press release about these two bikes over at Cyclelicious.

Posted in Commuter.

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By James T – August 24, 2010

Le Pliable folding bike

Saul Maret is a French designer living in Boston. He sent a few images of “Le Pliable”, his folding bike concept based on central headset position. One of the things that is interesting about this design, as Saul points out, is that it can be folded into multiple configurations- “you can fold the entire bike (frame, saddle, pedals, swingarm, handlebar) or one of these depending on were you leave it.” When folded completely, the wheels still move, so you can “push it around like a golf caddy” (similar to a folded Strida).

The bike uses standard components, so everything is easily replaced. Read more about the design in Saul’s image boards below.

Posted in Commuter, Concept.

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By James T – August 20, 2010

NeilPryde bikes

If you are not a windsurfer, you may have never heard of Hong Kong based company NeilPryde. I was certainly not familiar with the brand when I received an email from their Marketing Manager last month letting me know that they would be soon be announcing a “range of high performance road bikes sold direct to consumers via the Internet”. I’ll admit…I was a bit skeptical about the idea of high-end road bikes from a company that makes windsurfers. I expected to see “off the shelf” sourced carbon frames with custom graphics and decals. That is definitely not the case though with their two new framesets, the Diablo and the Alize. Both bikes were designed in collaboration with BMW DesignworksUSA, and both look pretty nice to me. The new NeilPryde bikes website features a design page, where you can find out more about the development of the new frames. Be sure to watch the 10-minute video to find out more about the design process and about NeilPryde’s motivation for entering the bicycle market.

Both of the new bikes are available with Dura-Ace or Ultegra builds. I won’t get too heavily into the specifics, but you can read a good quick first impression of the two models by James Huang at Bike Radar. Also, check out this short video of the Kammtail section of the Alize downtube in a windtunnel. The “morphing aerofoil cross-sections” on that frame certainly make for an interesting aesthetic. Speaking of interesting, some of the earlier concept renderings that can be seen in the video (like the one pictured below) are definitely a departure from the look of a typical carbon frame. Based on what I have seen so far, it will certainly be interesting to see how this new bike brand evolves.

Posted in Road.

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By James T – August 18, 2010

LED tires, smart bikes, and a competition

I am getting ready for another busy day of work in China, but before I head down to breakfast I want to quickly pass along a few of the links that have been accumulating in my inbox.

A few readers alerted me to Cyglo tires (pictured here) which have LED lights embedded in the tread or tire wall. A motion sensor within the tire turns on the lights, which can either flash or remain steady.  It is an interesting product, and with the Tron sequel to be released later this year their timing couldn’t be better, but I wonder about the idea of embedded lights in a component that needs to be replaced often with heavy use. Cost and durability of the tires will be the key factors there, and I wonder about recyclability with the extra electronics.

Wired Gadget Lab, The Huffington Post, and Fast Company are just a few of the sites mentioning the Apple patent for a “smart bike”, which Patently Apple posted last week. I know a few people who already use an iphone, with various GPS mapping apps, for some of the functions listed in the patent. It is nice to have one device for that type of data, but durability and weather proofing are the key disadvantages now compared to bike specific products like the ones from Garmin. It is not clear whether Apple would address those types of hardware issues if something like this were to actually move forward, but I don’t think it is likely that they would. If Apple does decide to pursue this idea though, it will be interesting to see how they address the user interface design (an area where many of the cyclo-computer and power meter manufacturers are lacking).

The ThinBike was designed by TreeHugger founder Graham Hill in partnership with Schindelhauer. The bike is a single-speed with handlebars and pedals that fold flat to save space. Learn more about it in this interview and video demo with Graham. You can also see a photo slideshow here.

Finally, I want to mention ‘Bespoke: Creative’, a design event to be held in Brick Lane, London this October. The event is a collaboration between 2Xanadu (a creative media consultant), LUMA (a carbon bicycle manufacturer) and McFaul Studio (a London based Design Agency). The event will feature an exhibition for which they are inviting well known designers to design graphics for the frames of LUMA’s fixed gear bikes. There is also a competition where you can submit an entry following the same brief as the handpicked designers. The winning entries will be featured in the exhibition. In addition the best overall design entered wins the bike it is transferred onto. Find out more and enter the competition at the ‘Bespoke: Creative’ website.

Posted in Concept.

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By James T – August 10, 2010

The Broadsider

I am traveling in China this week, and I’m definitely feeling the effects of the 12 hour time difference after a very long day of work. Before I get some sleep though, I want to quickly share a few images that I received from the Trek design department. Mike Hammond designed The Broadsider as a concept bike for the Trek World show this year. He explains that the concept, which stemmed from an earlier discussion within their MTB design group, “comes straight out of a post-oil, post-apocalyptic graphic novel based on its namesake.”

“It tells the story of the legendary ‘Cliff Racer’ Max Malco who lost his life saving a young boy from his racing rivals.” Make sure you check out the comic book that they created to go with the concept bike in the last image below.

Mike points out that “this is not a bike Trek will ever produce – it is an outlet for innovation and creativity. It is through executions like this the design team continually dreams up new directions to keep up the excitement and enthusiasm for bicycles.” Pretty cool stuff! It looks like a fun project and I am sure it will be a hit at the show. I can’t wait to see more from Trek World 2011 soon.

Posted in Concept, MTB.

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By James T – August 7, 2010

Cerevellum

I first mentioned Evan Solida’s Cerevellum concept at the end of 2007 and I had a chance to ride with a rough prototype a few months later. At that time, Evan’s cylco-computer with an integrated digital rearview camera was just a concept design, but now the product is starting production and is available for pre-order on the Cerevellum website. The Cerevellum will be manufactured in North America and ready to ship in Spring 2011. The cost is $499 ($549 with heart-rate strap) and pre-orders are refundable.

Evan, who was a 2004 Kansas state champion cyclist, explains that an accident prompted him to design and develop the product. After 15 years of accident free riding, he was hit by a car in 2007. “I landed on my face,” he recalls. “The ac­cident really shook me up. I did a few more races, but eventually lost my drive.” Fortunately, Evan chose to focus on the design for a cyclometer with a rearview camera at that time. “I wanted to create something to make it safer to ride a bike. My design background really helped me pull the pieces togeth­er. Everything—the skills and the resources—fell into place.”

In addition to displaying the current rearview on the screen, the unit features accident detection and recording (a very useful feature that a few commenters suggested in response to the earlier posts). It will also offer ANT+ compatibility for heart rate and power-measuring systems, and a GPS antenna for a mapping software upgrade in 2012. As you can tell from my past posts, this is a product that I am pretty excited about. I can’t wait to try it out once it is available and I will share my impressions when I do.

Posted in Concept, Road.

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By James T – August 3, 2010

Kestrel- now and then

New Kestrel 4000LTD

Browsing through design blogs this morning, I noticed that Yanko Design posted about the Kestrel 4000LTD time trial bike, designed by Anvil Studios. There is not a lot of substance about the bike in the YD post, but for more information on it you can check out this Cycling News article from May.

To be honest, I haven’t really paid much attention to Kestrel since the brand was acquired by Advanced Sports (parent company of Fuji) in 2007, but they do seem to be coming out with some very nice looking bikes these days. Though it has been quite a while, I still have an affinity for the brand from my days as a bike mechanic in the late eighties and early nineties. The shop that I worked for back then was a Kestrel dealer, so those were the first molded composite frames that I had experience with. We also carried bikes with carbon main tubes that fit into aluminum lugs, like the old Trek 2500 and the Giant Cadex, but compared to the monocoque Kestrel designs, those framesets seemed old fashioned. In the late eighties, Kestrel was a pioneer in carbon composite frame and fork construction, so the bikes really were unlike anything else on the road. I never owned one, but I built up and serviced quite a few Kestrel 4000’s for the local doctors and dentists who could afford them.

Old Kestrel 4000 (circa 1990)

Though Kestrel is not the same company it was 20 years ago, I am glad to see that the brand is still focused on good design. The new bikes might not be as groundbreaking as those early monocoque composite frames were 20 years ago, but they do still have distinctive features and nice design details. Just looking at the pictures on their website and blog, Kestrel seems like a brand that I should get to know again.

Posted in Road.

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By James T – August 2, 2010

Cyclorama and more

I spent a little time checking out Cyclorama.net last night. The website is the latest project of Company of Cyclists, a UK based group that I mentioned in a past post. Though the site is new, they already have a lot of content that will interest any of you who like to see various types of bicycles, including some pretty unusual ones. The “papoose bike” and the “human powered bus” pictured here are just two of the many unconventional designs that they feature in the “Ingenious” category. I encourage you to click through all of the pedal powered machines on that page…definitely interesting stuff. Cyclorama also has a blog on the site, which I have already added to my feed reader to follow.

I run across new, and interesting, websites all the time, so you may be wondering why I am so excited about this one. Well, it is probably because Bike Culture Quarterly & EnCYCLEopedia were by far my favorite bike related publications in the 80’s and early 90’s. Those are no longer in print, but I feel like Company of Cyclist is bringing exactly that type of content to the web with this new site. It is not just about slick, polished-looking new designs, but the site really is a showcase for all types of creative ideas pertaining to pedal powered machines. I have only scratched the surface in exploring the various sections of the site, but so far I am a pretty big fan.

While I am posting, I want to pass along a few additional links of interest.

Yannig Roth recently covered Bike Expo 2010 in Munich and he shared some interesting thoughts on the future of design in the bicycle industry in a blog post.

Treehugger posted about Monochrome Recycled Bikes, an initiative by Argentine designers Natan Burta and Alejandro Sanguinetti. As the post points out, the interesting part is not only that they recycle and refurbish the bikes, but that they do so while maintaining a branded identity.

Dave Weagle, inventor of the DW link used on Turner and Ibis full suspension frames, has patented a concentric dropout pivot suspension system called Split Pivot , which allows the rear axel to function as the pivot point. You can expect to see this system used on bikes from quite a few brands next year. Read more at Bike Biz and Bike Rumor.

Finally, I will mention this solar powered bike sharing system for Copenhagen. As bike sharing programs become more prevalent, I suspect that designers will increasingly view them as a unified system integrated into an overall transportation plan rather than an unrelated collection of parts… sort of like this, this, or this.

Posted in Concept.

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By James T – July 28, 2010

A creative bike parking video

Jos Sluijsmans runs the Dutch website Fietsdiensten.nl and is one of the organizers of the African Bicycle Design Contest, which I mentioned in a past post. He recently created a YouTube video titled ‘Creatief fietsparkeren’, which features some great examples of creative bicycle racks and parking designs from the Netherlands and around the world.

I had seen many of the designs featured, but a few of them were new to me. The wall mounted Wheelylift system was one that caught my attention in the video. I have no problem storing my lightweight bikes on the wall, but this seems like a good solution for heavy utility oriented designs. As Jos points out, the Wheelylift racks “can lift bikes up to 35 kg. So they are also very handy for twowheel cargobikes or tandems.”

Other parking solutions featured in the video include:

All in all, the video covers some unique approaches to bike parking and storage. In addition to these, and the ones I have mentioned in the past, can you think of other interesting designs that are worth a mention?

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By James T – July 22, 2010

Catching up- Paper Bicycle and other links

I had quite a bit to post last week, but I was way too busy with work to think about the blog. Today, I want to catch up a bit and pass along a few of the links that I have meaning to share recently.

The Paper Bicycle, designed by Nick Lobnitz, was recently exhibited at Velo City 2010 in Copenhagen (the bike that you see pictured here has the event’s logo on the chain guard). It comes as a 1 speed or an 8 speed, but as Philip Douglas of Simpel points out, “for hire systems it also comes with the new NuVinci N360.” Personally, I am happy to see a new bike that was designed with bike sharing programs in mind. In addition to the Paper Bicycle, Nick designs bike trailers. You can read an interview with him on that subject at the Bike Trailer Blog.

On a related note, Sightline Daily posted recently about cargo bikes. The article covers several different types and features quite a few pictures. Definitely worth a look.

A few weeks ago, Brian Mitchell sent me images of an electric hub-driven bicycle that he designed as a team project with three other students. I never got around to mentioning it, but you can see several pictures of their prototype in this designboom post.

Christophe Robillard is another design student who recently submitted a concept bike. You can see images of his Victor city bike at his blog.

The “world’s fastest electric bike” has been hitting the design blogs lately. The carbon fiber frame PG-Bikes Blacktrail, which looks a lot like an old café racer, has a claimed top speed of over 60 mph. All that speed doesn’t come cheap though. The limited edition e-bike will set you back 59,500 €  (close to $77,000).

Atomic Duck is an online project to develop an open source velomobile. Patrick Fenner of Deferred Procrastination explains:

“The Atomic Duck is intended for daily commuting, as an option for some of the people who want to ditch the car, but still want the weather protection. It’s being released open source, so you’ll be able to see how it comes together as design continues, full designs will available online, it’ll be open for anyone to tinker and improve, and we’ll be asking for local businesses to produce it, in an attempt make it available everywhere in the world.”

Sounds like a very interesting project…definitely one that I will be watching.

There seems to be a lot of bicycle themed jewelry on the market these days. Some of it is quite unimpressive (and a bit tacky), but the stainless steel Penny farthing and tandem earrings and pendants from Polli are nicely executed. Polli is an Australian uses recycled materials and has been certified as Low CO2 by the Carbon Reduction Institute. They have new bike themed designs coming out soon (including the earrings pictured here), so keep an eye on their website for those.

According to The {Design} Blog, this e-trike concept produces sustainable energy using photosynthesis. Nice renderings, but I am skeptical.

Another concept bike I don’t think I have posted before is “The Glide”, an urban fixie that features hubless wheels, an integrated iPhone dock, and a very aggressive riding position. Though the design is completely impractical, it is an interesting form study. I know that some of you don’t disagree, but I still sort of enjoy seeing “blue sky” concept bikes like this from time to time.

Finally, a long rambling post like this one wouldn’t be complete without a Tour de France mention. Murray alerted me to this great collection of photos at the Boston Globe, which I think really captures the excitement of this year’s race. Today’s stage was another one that kept that excitement going. The change in the GC made me think though… maybe Third Eye should step in as Saxo Bank sponsor for next year. Seriously though, I do run a chain watcher on my road bike, and they are not uncommon in the pro peloton either. Hindsight is 20/20, but that ounce of prevention would have really paid off for Schleck today.

Posted in Commuter, E-bike, Student Design, Utility.

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By James T – July 19, 2010

Berner pulleys and a Rafael singlespeed

Photo credit: James Huang, CyclingNews.com

If you have checking out the tech sections of the various cycling sites lately, you have probably noticed the SRAM Red rear derailleurs with carbon fiber cages developed by Wolfgang Berner. Rafael Hoffleit, whose bikes I have mentioned on the blog a couple times before, points out that he is handcrafting the small carbon pieces for those rear derailleurs. He mentions that though it is a very small part, he is a bit proud:

”Now I see the absolute elite of our sport cornering around with a small piece that starts in my hands – very nice.”

Rafael also recently received recognition for the Heidelberg singlespeed, which was selected as a BrandNewAward finalist. That bike, along with others from Rafael, will be on display at the Bike Expo in Munich from July 22nd to 25th. In addition to the urban oriented singlespeed Heildelberg, Rafael also has a new track bike based on his r-011 time trial bike. The “Spyder” (pictured here) looks very nice. As with his time trial bikes, I like the integration of a fairly standard stem into the frame. Nice details all around.

Posted in Road.

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By James T – July 13, 2010

SCOTT Project F01 Aero Road Racing bike

After a disappointing Tour start this year, Mark Cavendish seems to be back on track with his second stage win in two days. The attention is back on Cav, but the bike that he is riding, the recently unveiled SCOTT F01, deserves a lot of attention as well. The new aerodynamic road racing bike, which SCOTT developed in close partnership with Team HTC-Columbia and Drag2Zero services, was presented at a press conference in Rotterdam right before the Prologue.

The goal of the F01 project was to “achieve aerodynamic performance with a light and stiff profile.” Specifically, SCOTT set out to:

•Reduce overall drag of rider and bike at 45 KPH by 20 watts, between 0-20 degree crosswind with a 20 to 30 % reduction of frame drag compared to standard tube.

•Reach Addict stiffness with only 5% increase in weight

The design was developed and tested in the Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Wind Tunnel. As you can see in the slide image from SCOTT’s presentation, it uses a 3:2 ratio tube profile that looks like an airfoil shape with the tail removed (like a very short Kamm tail profile). If you look at the picture above, the red colored sections on the backs of certain tubes indicate where the trailing airfoil edges have been removed. According to the company, the result of this project is a frame that is stiff and 20% lighter than most of the other aero frames on the market.

The bike is not available to the public yet, but it is a great example of an equipment sponsor really putting a new design through the paces during the three weeks of the Tour. That is something that I always like to see, and it really is what makes the Tour de France the race to watch for bike geeks.

Back to Cavendish though…it is no surprise that he wanted flashy custom graphics on his Project F01 bike. Check out this Bike Radar profile of his bike to see how the graphic designers at SCOTT interpreted his request for a “ninja theme.” Creating a tasteful design with splattered blood as a primary element is no easy task, but I think they did a pretty nice job with it.

Posted in Road.

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By James T – July 9, 2010