Year: 2011
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Alabamboo bikes from COMMON
I have been in the Pearl River Delta area of China the last few days, so I have seen a lot of bamboo. It is an inexpensive and strong renewable resource that is used for scaffolding, fencing, and many other applications that are highly visible in cities like Dongguan and Shenzen. Of course, you don’t…
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Wooden bikes from Audi (no foolin’)
I am off to China for work again tomorrow, so new posts will be infrequent for a few weeks. I’ll try to write a few quick ones when I can find some free time though, so keep checking in. Before I leave, I want to quickly just pass along a few links of interest. At…
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Bikes from CB2
CB2, the younger, hipper sister store of Crate and Barrel, is the latest housewares and furniture retailer to jump into the bicycle business. Their first two bikes are ‘omafiets’ style and were created in collaboration with Republic bikes (the same company that Urban Outfitters teamed up with for their bike offerings last year). I kind…
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Torque e-bike by Emil Møller Pedersen
A month or so ago, I posted about a handcycle by Marius Hjelmervik, a design student at Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark. It turns out that Marius wasn’t the only one in his class to design a bike. For his final project, classmate Emil Møller Pedersen designed an electric bike called the Torque. Emil…
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Specialized McLaren Venge
What can I say about the new Specialized S-Works + McLaren Venge that has not already been said? If you opened your web browser at all yesterday, it was hard to miss at least one mention of this new road bike, which Specialized developed in collaboration with the McLaren Group. In the five years since…
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2011 Taipei Cycle Show and assorted links
The 2011 Taipei Cycle Show is underway, which means that the winners of the winners of the 15th annual International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC) have been announced. Cycling Satin Cesena has photos and descriptions of all the winners, but you can see the Silver Award winning ‘Sommerset’ folder with an intergrated shopping bag pictured here.…
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Drymer: a Dutch electric assist trike
I have been busy this week and haven’t been able to think about the blog. I received an interesting message from an anonymous reader in Holland though, that I want to quickly pass along: ”In 2002, a collaboration between the Delft University of Technology, Gazelle, and Nike resulted in the ‘Mitka’. There is still a…
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The EADS Airbike and other links
I have seen quite a few different posts today about the EADS ‘Airbike’ (named after the EADS subsidiary Airbus). The European Aerospace and Defense Group created this bicycle to demonstrate their Additive Layer Manufacturing (basically 3d printing) process. The official EDS press release explains that the nylon structure is ‘grown’ from a fine powder, allowing…
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Cinco by ORTRE: a bike for everyday cycling
Alex Liauw contacted me recently about an “everyday cycling” bike that he designed. He mentioned that he was very interested in the “Commuter bike for the masses” design competition held here at Bicycle Design a couple years ago, and that the competition inspired him to design a bike for that market. His bike, the Cinco…
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A design competition and other links
NeilPryde Bikes is running a design competition that many of you might want to enter. Between now and May 1st, design your own graphics for their Diablo model on the theme of Freedom, and you could win a frameset painted with your customized graphics and a $1,000 prize. If you win, they may even produce…
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2011 NAHBS
The 2011 North American Handmade Bicycle Show wrapped up in Austin on Sunday with the announcement of the award winners. There were many beautiful bikes chosen, but my personal favorite bike didn’t make the cut for an award. Shin-Ichi Konno’s Cherubim concept track bike (pictured here from UrbanVelo) may not have been the most practical…
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Beixo GO, Retrovelo, and more
I mentioned the Beixo Share bike in a post late last year. Currently, Beixo is working on a new bike- a 16-inch wheel folding model called GO. Jos Ramselaar designed the GO while he was studying Industrial Design at TU Delft (and Beixo points out that he “graduated with a 9 on this project”). The…
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Mode of Transformation
It is no secret that I love books about bicycles. The latest one that I have added to my collection (thanks to Kim at Williams and House) is not commercially available though. Mode of Transformation, from Mohawk Paper, is a beautifully designed promotional sample book that was created to showcase the company’s highest grade of…
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Bicycle Design on Bike Radar
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the piece about BicycleDesign.net that appeared on Bike Radar last Friday. I think Matt Pacocha, the US Editor of UK based Bike Radar, did a great job profiling this blog in their “Website of the Week” feature. Previous websites of the week include Red Kite Prayer and…
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Forzer off-road handcycle by Marius Hjelmervik
As an avid mountain biker, Marius Hjelmervik wanted to work on a bike related design for his final student project at the School of Architecture in Arhus, Denmark (where he studied Industrial Design). “Modern bicycles really look good, and they work better than ever,” he said. “The way design and engineering work together in a…
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Nectar, Elixir, and assorted random links
Nectar, a fixed seat clamp, and Elixir, quick release seat clamp, are the latest products from Swarm, a product design firm based in Salt Lake City. Both clamps feature a bottle opener that is nicely integrated into the form (unlike similar products that I have seen). They are launching the products using Kickstarter, so be…
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Does the bicycle industry need new ideas?
“The bicycle industry needs to move away from unsuitable sporty racing bikes and focus on the needs of non-enthusiasts if cycling is to become a mode of transport used by the majority.” That is the opening sentence in a Design Week (UK) cover story this week (which I discovered via Bike Biz). If you have…
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2011 Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Design Challenge
I mentioned the winners of the first Oregon Manifest “Constructor’s Design Challenge” last year. For any of you who you missed your chance to submit an entry in 2010, registration is now open for the 2011 Constructor’s Design Challenge. This year’s event, which is sponsored by Levi’s, will take place in Portland on September 23rd…