Category: Utility / Cargo Bike
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Bikes, hubs, jeans, a camera bag, and more
The new Specialized Source is a bike that caught my attention as I was looking at the 2012 Global Product Launch coverage at Bike Hugger. The sporty urban bike comes as either a derailleur version or with a belt drive. I like the fact that it includes fenders, a bell, and a dyno-powered light…feature that…
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SoBi- a smartphone based bike sharing system
Around this time last year, I posted the Etta bike, a semi-recumbent city bike that Nick Foley designed as his senior thesis project at Pratt. Since then, Nick graduated and started working with the design team at the bike-sharing company Social Bicycles. Nick explains that Social Bicycles (SoBi) is a bike-sharing system that uses “smart” bikes…
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African Bicycle Design Contest Winner- TU Delft
The team from the Delft University of Technology won the African Bicycle Design Contest last Friday with a simple trailer design which features a modular box system to keep the cargo secure and separated. The idea for the modular containers was based on the team’s research into the transportation needs of local farmers and fishermen…
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Final awards ceremony for the African Bicycle Design Contest
I mentioned last year that I am serving as one of the judges in the African Bicycle Design Contest, the aim of which is to create “affordable quality bicycles tuned to the needs of (potential) cyclists in Africa.” In the first ‘open wiki-bike’ phase of the contest, which took place in 2010, we ranked the…
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Dave and Rob’s custom trike
After seeing the post yesterday about the DuoCycle, Dave Thompson sent me this picture of a similar trike that he designed and built for himself and his son. Dave’s son Rob was in a car accident three years ago and suffered a severe head injury that left him in a wheelchair. The trike Dave built…
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DuoCycle trike
DuoCycle is a student project by Wim Bussels, who is currently studying industrial design at MAD Faculty in Genk, Belgium. Wim’s upright/recumbent tricycle (with a rear hubless wheel) allows a person with disabilities to ride in tandem with an accompanist who controls the steering and braking. Both riders can pedal, so the disabled rider to…
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BTWD and a couple of cargo bikes
It’s National Bike to Work Day here in the US. For the hardcore bike commuters who might be reading this, today is like any other day (except for the free food and schwag). A couple weeks ago, I heard one of those everyday, rain or shine commuters dismiss the idea of Bike to Work Day,…
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City Cycle- a pedal-powered pub
What happens when you ask a rocket scientist to build a bicycle? Well…apparently, you get the City Cycle, which at first glance looks like a cross between the Hopsworksfiets beer bike and a city bus. Casimir Sienkiewicz and his team at Caztek Engineering usually work on projects for the aerospace or medical industries, but they…
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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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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…
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Camioncyclette by Christophe Machet
A recent GOOD Design post asked the question, “What if Your Bike Was a Station Wagon?” The bike that they featured in that post, Camioncyclette by Swiss designer Christophe Machet was designed to carry loads up to 150 kilograms (330 pounds) in the big yellow integrated front and rear wire baskets. “What do you get…
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Enter the African Bicycle Design Contest
I mentioned the African Bicycle Design Contest in a previous post, but I want to remind you that the deadline for submitting an entry is just over one week away (September 30th). If you have any ideas about how a bicycle can be designed or modified to make a difference in Africa, I encourage you…
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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…
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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…
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Transport+ from Trek’s Gary Fisher Collection
There was a good bit of interest in the Gary Fisher El Ranchero longtail bike when I posted it in 2008. Though the El Ranchero was presented at Trek World ’08 as only a concept bike, Gary himself commented at the time saying, “we will make a long bike, E bike? RIGHT on!” Well… that…
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MONOWALKER hiking/cycling trailer
The MONOWALKER, designed by Kai Fuchs, is a great looking wooden and aluminum bike trailer, but as you might guess from the name it is more than that. The product is primarily a single wheeled hiking trailer, but by adding another wheel and a bike drawbar, you can convert it into a cycling trailer. Watch…
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Customized city bikes from Beick
I first posted a design by Angelo Jansen (his GSUS concept bike) about two years ago. Since that time, Angelo has been working on another interesting design project. Beick.nl is a Dutch website where customers can customize and purchase the Beick city bike online. As you choose from the different options available, you see a…