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Helios LED bars and a roll-up mudguard

After a public debut at the Bay Area Maker Faire over the weekend, the smartphone controlled LED Helios handlebars are getting a lot of attention on the web (well deserved attention, I believe). The tagline on the website is, “transform any bike into a smart bike with Helios Bars.” That is a pretty big statement, but these bars include much more than a 500 lumen front light and integrated turn signals. Once the bars are installed, you can download an app and connect them to your iPhone via Bluetooth 4.0 Low-energy (hopefully an Andriod app is coming soon too). The phone becomes the control center for the Helios bars, allowing the user to vary the color and intensity of the lights, and set several other smart features. The rear facing lights can function as a visual speedometer, changing color as you speed up or slow down. They can also function as turn signals, operated by tactile buttons on either side of the stem. In addition to light features, there is a GPS that allows the owner to see the coordinates and Google Maps location of the bike from anywhere in the world within seconds.

The bullhorn version of the bars will come out first with a $199 pricetag. A drop bar version is in the works to be released soon after. The project will launch on Kickstarter tomorrow, so check the website for a link and more information.

Another bike accessory on Kickstarter at the moment is the Plume recoiling bicycle mudguard, designed by Dan McMahon, a Brooklyn based designer, and Patrick Laing, a designer in London. Plume is a simple and elegant design for a mudguard that is there when you need it, and out of the way when you don’t. If you have seen those slap bracelets for kids, you know the basic concept… and you may have the same concern that I did initially. Will this thing coil up unexpectedly and spank the rider in the rear after the first big bump? I was glad to see that Dan and Patrick addressed that concern in the video, and they show a rider descending stairs with no movement from the Plume at all.

Apparently I am not the only one who likes the idea. They have already surpassed their funding goal and still have about a month to go on the Kickstarter campaign. You can find out more about the product there, and jump on the bandwagon to back the project if you are so inclined

Posted in Commuter, Concept.

Tagged with fenders, integrated electronics, LED, light, smartphone.

11 comments

By James Thomas – May 21, 2013

Velomobiles from Piximatic and GeoSpace

It has been several years since I mentioned Christophe Sarrazin’s velomobile designs. Since that 2009 post though, his website has evolved quite a bit. The site is more than just a source for news about velomobile design. To encourage others to get involved with velomobile construction projects, Christophe offers free downloads of many of his 3D concept models. The files (.fbx, .obj, and .stl formats) are free to use for non-profit and commercial purposes. He just asks that you credit the source, www.piximatic.net.

Another velomobile project is the FireFly, by GeoSpace Studio (pictured below). The shell of the FireFly connects to the front of a recumbent trike to create an “all weather, self-illuminated, human powered vehicle.” Check out the website for additional pictures and information, and be sure to watch the video of the Firefly in use at night.

Posted in Concept, HPV.

Tagged with CAD, light, recumbent, velomobile.

No comments

By James Thomas – May 17, 2013

Bike designs by Milos Jovanovic

I have seen quite a few bicycle projects on the design portfolio website Behance lately, and I have been saving them into a collection on the site as I find them. Two of the designs that I noticed recently are the ones featured here by Serbian designer Milos Jovanovic. Appropriately named, “Woody” is a wooden city bike which Milos says was “inspired by retro steel frame bicycles” (perhaps he is referring to the older “triple triangle” steel GT frames). See additional renderings of the bike here on the project page.

Milos’ eCycle (below) is an electric bike that was inspired by vintage motorcycles. The battery pack is located in a stylized “fuel tank” , which can be removed from the aluminum frame for rides where electric assist is not desired. Again, you can find additional images, and more information, on the project page at Behance.

Posted in E-bike.

Tagged with E-bike, electric bikes, reader submitted design, wooden bike.

4 comments

By James Thomas – May 13, 2013

ZIPcycle 2.0 by Eric Birkhauser

Eric Birkhauser’s “open air” ZIPcycle velomobile concept was featured in a Bicycle Design post last year. He points out that the feedback received from readers in the comments (and from an earlier post) directly led to his redesign… the ZIPcycle 2.0. In order to prove the concept, Eric’s next step is to build a working prototype, and he has launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds needed to accomplish that goal.

The basic idea behind the ZIPcycle is to increase efficiency so that the vehicle requires less input for more output. To accomplish that, Eric’s design is (not surprisingly) “a recumbent bicycle that has been aerodynamically optimized for less exertion and higher cruising speeds.” As he further explains:

“The standard upright bicycle hits an aerodynamic wall as it approaches 20 mph. If you have ever had the experience of riding with a 20 mph tailwind, you have experienced the elimination of this wall. By shifting and streamlining the body position of the rider, and enclosing the drag causing elements of the bicycle in a fairing, this wall again can be eliminated. The modern road bicycle and rider has roughly a drag coefficient of .80, the ZIPcycle effectively drops the coefficient to .14. This reduction in drag means that about 40% less energy is required to maintain a cruising speed of 20 mph. While the average commuting bicycle cruising speed is 12 mph, imagine easily doubling that cruising speed, while eliminating the handlebar strain and seat pressure of the conventional bicycle, and preserving the open air experiential component of the conventional bicycle. “

Key Components of the ZIPcycle Design

A die stamped monocoque aluminum chassis

Linked steering mechanism, connecting the handlebar to the steering tube and front wheel fork (a mechanism found in underseat steering recumbent bicycles)

Hub shifting in the rear wheel to accommodate the necessary gearing range

Lubricated bearings, gears, and chains enclosed within the chassis in an internal driveshaft beam (so you will never again get grease on your clothes)

Hollow tail-box, accessible by tilting the ventilated seat forward, spacious enough for a medium sized bag

Option for an in-hub motor and lithium ion battery pack to provide hill and acceleration assist functions for cyclists in hilly and mountainous regions

Additionally, while the intent of this concept is to preserve the traditional open-air experience of the bicycle, the chassis has been designed in tandem with a fairing, and a fairing will be a future optional component of the design.

You can see a few renderings of the ZIPcycle 2.0 in this post, but I encourage you to visit Eric’s project page for more.

Posted in Commuter, Concept, HPV.

Tagged with reader submitted design, recumbent, velomobile, ZIPcycle.

14 comments

By James Thomas – May 7, 2013

Steam-o by Janos Insperger

If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I am not a fan of hubless wheels. You may occasionally see them used on custom motorcycles for a visual effect, but in general, I believe that they work better in renderings than they do in real life.

I will temporarily put aside my bias against hubless wheels though to share a few images of Hungarian designer Janos Insperger’s Steam-o concept bike, which was inspired by the steamlined locomotives of the 30’s. Janos can explain the design concept better than I can, so here is what he has to say about his design.

“Steam-o, this “retro-futuristic” lowrider cruiser was inspired by the magnificent age of aerodynamic steam locomotives. The leather seat with spring suspension, the reverse brake lever of caliper brakes, the big headlight with chrome and bronze polish remains the renaissance of steam machines.

The aerodynamic design of the 1930s appeared at locomotives too, for example think about Loewy’s K4S locomotive. This monument part of history combining with a light, human powered vehicle resulted in this bicycle concept.

The main feature of this concept is the pushrod drivetrain such as that used on steam locomotives.
Pedaling torque is transmitted by bearing on eccentric shaft to coupling rods. Coupling rods move in vertical motion as well as horizontally as the crankarm rotate. The same eccentric shaft at rear wheel receives the torque ratio 1:1. To gain a useful travel speed it needs a small gearbox (about 1:6 ratio depends on crank arm length and rear wheel size).

Wheels looks like railway wheels, but behind the outer shield, the tire’s rim rotates around by planetary rollers, that run around an inner, fixed rim. As the rollers move planetary, suspended to a rotating rim, their position is continuously changing, so their wear is balanced equally. This guarantees long life, and adds a small amount of suspension to the massive wheel structure.

The fixed, non-rotating rim of the front wheel is held by 2 headset bearing, upside and downside. As downside bearing is inside the wheel, the lower fork is bent out of bike central plain. The slack angle of headset and the low frame geometry results in the lowrider feeling.”

In addition to the Steam-O, you can see several of Janos’ older bike designs on his Coroflot page. You can also see more images of this design, and a few others, on his Tumblr blog.

Posted in Concept, Student Design.

Tagged with cruiser, hubless wheel, lowrider, reader submitted design.

3 comments

By James Thomas – May 3, 2013

A GrabCAD contest and a bit of HPV history

I briefly mentioned the engineering website and community GrabCAD last year, when they ran a crank weight reduction challenge for Tern and a bar tape fixing challenge for Flying Machine Bicycle Design Studio.

They have a new design/engineering challenge underway, in partnership with Velodroom, to “create an accessory that solves a problem cyclists face in their daily trek.” The brief is fairly open ended, with one of the major requirements being that the design fit within the design language of the current Velodroom lighting system. See the challenge page for complete rules and requirements. The deadline is May 29^th and there are awards for the top ten entries, get to work if you have an idea in mind.

Update 5/2: I will be participating as one of the jury members for this competition, and I am looking forward to reviewing all of the designs at the end of the month.

Switching gears from Velodroom to velomobiles (and HPVs…and other speed machines). I was pretty excited last week when Richard Masoner, of Cyclelicious, clued me in to the fact that the complete archives of Human Power , the technical journal of the International Human Powered Vehicle Association, are now available on the IHPVA website. The issues, dating back to 1977, contain a wealth of information from guys like Chester Kyle, David Gordon Wilson, and Mike Burrows (just to name a few). I could, and probably will, spend hours poring over these old issues. These archives are definitely a great resource, and I highly recommend that you all bookmark.

Ray at Core77 has been posting a lot of good bike related content lately, and his latest post is no exception. He picked up on the IHPVA archives link that I tweeted last week, and ties it in to the Tom Donhou speed bike, complete with a 104 tooth chainring, that was recently spotted at Bespoked Bristol. Lots of other good HPV and speed record content is included in that Core post too, so be sure to check it out.

All this talk about HPVs and other odd bikes reminds me that SPEZI 2013 took place this week. I haven’t seen much online coverage of this year’s show yet though, so I would love to hear from any of you who were there.

Posted in Concept, HPV.

Tagged with design competition, HPV, human power, IHPVA, recumbent, velomobile.

1 comment

By James Thomas – April 30, 2013

Wooden bikes by Pietro Russomanno and Chris Connor

Posts have been somewhat infrequent here at Bicycle Design lately, but it is definitely not for lack of content. I haven’t been able to keep up with all of the design submissions and tips from readers the last couple of months, so if you sent something, feel free to remind me. Today, I want to feature a couple of recent reader submitted designs. Since I mentioned wooden bikes in the recent Milan Design Week post, I will keep that theme going with the two designs featured today.

Italian designer Pietro Russomanno’s latest project is the “BKR Ecoframe” concept bicycle. It has a playwood frame structure, somewhat like the Sandwich Bike, but this design uses bent-ply to form the structural skins rather than flat sheets. Here is how Pietro describes his project:

“BKR is a concept bicycle with several innovative features. It uses wood because it makes the best out of its physical and natural proprieties of sustainability, malleability and, above all, elasticity.

The main frame is a skeleton made out of plywood with an unusual mirrored structure. The two parts are merged like a sandwich through the use of screws “drowned” in inert rubber gaskets. This joint system, combined with use of wood as main material, reduces vibrations and absorbs shocks.

The “Easy Saddle” is an innovative adjustment system that permits to change the height of the seat very quickly. By just pushing a button, it allows different users to ride comfortably.

A specifically designed dynamo on the front wheel provides energy as well as speed/distance trip information directly to a smartphone dock on the handlebars.

Moreover, introducing a more sophisticated ‘color and trim’ scheme, inspired by the car industry and unusual for the world of biking, BKR comes in multiple combinations of wood grains and tints.”

Additional images and information about the project can be found on Pietro’s website.

Chris Connor’s wooden bikes (pictured below) are handbuilt in Denver, Colorado. His frames are “made from steam bent, hand-sculpted, and Kevlar reinforced ash and walnut woods with protective marine spar varnish finishes.” Currently, Connor Cycles offers two models, both with fat tire 29er wheels and leather saddles. See the website for more details, and be sure to watch the short video on the homepage for a glimpse into Chris’ construction process.

Posted in Concept.

Tagged with reader submitted design, wood, wooden bike.

1 comment

By James Thomas – April 26, 2013

Bamboobee bikes by Sunny Chuah

I have mentioned bamboo bikes on this blog quite a few times in the past, and I even had the chance to ride one for a few weeks last year. At first glance, the Bamboobee bikes, by designer AhSun “Sunny” Chuah, looked a lot like all the others on the market. Upon closer inspection though, there are some pretty interesting details and features that separate Sunny’s bikes from others that I have seen. Watch the video at the top of his Kickstarter page to see what I mean.

Sunny built his first bamboo bicycle three years ago, and used it to complete a 3,792 mile solo cycling expedition around Central Asia and Asia. “Riding on tough terrains during the expedition taught him a lot about riding comfort, bamboo as a raw material and bicycle design principles. I was also pleasantly surprised at how a natural material like bamboo can break language barriers to create conversations and bring people together” Since that trip, he has refined his prototype designs through trial and error, resulting in the bikes you see here.

Sunny refers to his design as the “world’s first tech-based handcrafted bicycle that can connect cyclist, people and nature.” The integrated SMS alert system, which can send a message to the owner’s phone when a vibration triggers the alarm system, is part of that tech story. So is the NuVinci continuously variable transmission with an electric assist option… a feature not found on the average bamboo bike. The most interesting tech feature though is the bamboo material itself. The bamboo tubes are infused with honey (get it…Bamboobee) in a “trademarked environmental friendly process” that, according to Sunny, prevents the natural material from cracking (a common problem with bamboo over time). As a result, the bikes have been certified by International Bicycle EN standards and come with a 10 year warranty.

See three of the initial models below, and visit the Kickstarter page to see several more.

Posted in Concept, E-bike, Utility.

Tagged with bamboo, handmade.

2 comments

By James Thomas – April 24, 2013

Design Week in Milan 2013

In the last month or so, I have been traveling quite a bit for work, so there hasn’t been very much activity here at the Bicycle Design blog. Last week, I was in Milan, Italy for Euroluce and Salone del Mobile, which I have mentioned before are my favorite design focused shows. In addition to the lighting/furniture fair at FieroMilano in Rho, there are always a LOT of interesting events going on in the city during Milan Design Week. Increasingly, bikes are a big part of the scene…and there were way more this year than I had time to see in three days.

I mentioned in a Twitter post that fixies seemed to be the must have accessory this year in many of the furniture and lighting displays. In general, they were standard hipster issue with deep V rims, flat bars, a few retro parts, and select chrome and leather accents.

All of the bikes at the show were not just accessories though. The leather, carbon fiber, and stainless steel Cykno electric bike, created by designer Luca Scopel and engineer Bruno Greppi, was one that was getting a lot of attention. You can see more pictures of the bike here and here, and check out the design page on the Cykno website for a bit of background on the collaboration.

Several of the bikes that have been mentioned on this blog before could be seen in Milan last week. Sports fashion brand Dirk Bikkembergs was showing off the 77/011 Metropolitan Bike, a collaboration with Italian motorcycle accessories brand Rizoma .

Smart e-bike station in Milan. Photo credit: designspotter.com

The Smart e-bike by by Hussein Al-Attar could be seen during Design Week. You could even take a design tour on one if you were so inclined.

The handmade wooden bike by Jan Gunneweg was featured in the Green Island 2013 exhibition, a project by aMAZElab. Read more about Green Island on their website.

The flat pack Sandwich Bike (pictured above) is a design by Bleigh Industrial Design Studio of Amsterdam that goes back quite a few years at Salone del Mobile. This year, the bikes could be seen at Bleigh’s space near the Heineken sponsored Magazzini in Milan’s Tortona district.

In addition to bicycles, there were other bike related products to be seen in Milan last week. The “Savoir-Faire” exhibition featured a fun collection of bike accessories selected by ECAL Director Alexis Georgacopoulos. See a video featuring all of the products here.

Like I said, I couldn’t see it all, and this is just a small sampling of the bike related design that was associated with Milan Design week. There were bikes from Bough Bikes, Blackstar Bikes, and Paul Smith/Condor Cycles that I didn’t know about until I was back home, and I am sure that there are many others that I failed to mention. Feel free to leave a comment if you have links or pictures of bikes that I missed.

Posted in Concept, E-bike, Events.

Tagged with Euroluce, Fuori Salone, Italy, Milan, Milan Design Week, Salone del Mobile.

1 comment

By James Thomas – April 18, 2013

Taipei Cycle Show 2013- a guest post by Nick Foley

Intro from James: Thanks to Nick Foley, Head of Industrial Design at Social Bicycles, for this guest post. Nick is a frequent commenter, and has been featured on this blog a couple of times in this past, so I was happy that he was willing to share his impressions from the Taipei Cycle Show. I hope you enjoy Nick’s post as much as I did.

The past two years, I’ve traveled to Asia to meet with bicycle manufacturers in mid-March, which means both times, a side-trip has ensued to the Taipei Cycle Show. If you’re getting things built in the bike industry, the Taipei Cycle Show provides a great opportunity to meet new manufacturing partners as well as update existing partners about new projects. If you’re a bike/tech geek, it also provides an amazing opportunity to see novel products firsthand and get a sense for where the bike industry thinks it’s headed. The show concluded this weekend, and James offered to let me sum up my photos and thoughts from the show in a post for Bicycle Design.

Last year at the Taipei Cycle Show, I went expecting E-Bikes to be the star… and they were: Specialized, Stromer, Eden and a handful of other companies all displayed new, holistically integrated E-Bike designs. This year, due to a busy schedule, I didn’t have a lot of time to speculate on what I was going to see at the show, so what I did see took me a little by surprise: E-Bikes were certainly present in huge numbers, but they felt more like established ideas rather than new ones. I suppose this is due to a market that is beginning to mature, and it’s a good thing for us as potential E-Bike consumers – the best ideas are propagating and standards are emerging. Practically every booth had a few E-Bikes, and most of the innovative ones from last year reappeared in near-identical form this year, though now they were permitted to be photographed. Unfortunately, the Mando Footloose was not at the show… apparently Mando and Pacific Cycles (the manufacturer) couldn’t come to an agreement about the displaying the bike. This was a big disappointment as I’m very interested to see it in person (as are many readers of this blog, I’m sure).

There were many inspiring Road and Mountain bike designs, with a strong showing of color and refinement that was refreshing to see. The Cervelo RCA was clean and understated – the level of thought that went in to its design was evident in every aspect of the frame. Taiwanese manufacturer Axman had several bold, beautiful carbon frames that stood out amongst the generic carbon present in so many booths. My favorite bike from the show, however, was a track bike by Wheeler, with an 80′s-TT-heyday aesthetic and perfectly executed details.

Despite all of the impressive new tech and craft, what really stood out to me this year was… cargo cycling. Bike trailers for every conceivable type of cargo were available, bike-basket makers were finally offering a range of elegant and sturdy options, and E-Bikes with integrated cargo space were everywhere. To me, it was unexpected – and though there weren’t too many cargo products that took my breath away in terms of design – the sheer volume of them left me very excited about the prospect that cargo cycling is actually, finally, going mainstream.

There are many more photos of the show posted to my Google+ page, with comments on them to arrive next week, when I get out behind the Great Firewall of China.

Posted in Events, Guest, Road, Utility.

6 comments

By James Thomas – April 4, 2013