-
3D printed carbon fiber bike frame by Andrew Leinonen
You may remember Andrew Leinonen’s StayLocked “self-destructing” bike frame from a post last year. His latest project is also pretty interesting- “a custom bicycle frame that uses 3D-printed lug sockets to define the bicycle’s geometry.” The printed ABS lugs are then bonded to steel aluminum frame tubes and reinforced with carbon fiber, using 3D printed…
-
Dura-Ace 9000 and SRAM XX1- both go to 11
So I guess I should mention Shimano’s “official” release of the Dura Ace 9000 11-speed groups (electronic and mechanical) , though it seems a bit anticlimactic considering the fact that we have all seen the “unofficially” leaked photos that appeared on the web months ago. As suspected from those early pics, the crankset has a…
-
InCog multi-tool and more
InCOG is an “out of sight” multi-tool that was created by Industrial designer Joshua Brassé, Founder and CEO of Ideacious. The tool fits neatly inside the bike’s handlebar, and is flexible so that it works with standard drop bars as well as various other bends. The exposed end-cap is designed with a recessed star pattern,…
-
The winning bikes at US Pro
For the seventh year in a row, I had a great time watching and photographing the USA Pro Championship races here in Greenville, SC. After a great run here, the road and time trial national move to Chattanooga, TN next year, but this last US Pro in Greenville (for a while at least) was definitely…
-
Laser spoke power meter
If you regularly visit cycling sites on the web, it is hard to miss articles about the benefits of training with a power meter. When the first SRM power meter was developed in the late 80s, it was definitely a training tool strictly for the pros. These days though, there are many more options available…
-
Petal Velomobile by Eric Birkhauser
Architect Eric Birkhauser recently sent me a link to his entry in the B’Twin/ Local Motors design competition (see the other entries here). His velomobile, with LED lights integrated into the shell/frame, sounds pretty interesting, so I want to share a few of the image boards here along with Eric’s description of the concept: “The…
-
Anti-theft bike lights
The Blink/Steady bike light is Brooklyn-based designer Benjamin Cohen’s solution to the problem of bike light theft. The light is machined from solid aluminum and is secured to the seat post by a set screw inside the unit, making it difficult to steal. There are no buttons, and it uses an accelerometer to turn on…
-
Taiwanese basket bike and a crowdsourced MTB
A couple of months ago, I mentioned the Peugeot DL122 concept bike, which featured a slot compartment in the main triangle area designed to hold a briefcase. Robert, from Ascend Cycles, pointed out that 20 inch wheel bikes with a similar compartment in the frame are a pretty common sight on the streets of Taipei.…
-
An electric trials bike from Audi?
On Friday, I first saw the images of the Audi designed e-bike that is now spreading around the web like wildfire. I admit that I didn’t pay much attention to the text accompanying the articles at first, so I was initially confused by the geometry and the oddly shaped “vestigial” saddle that it appears would…
-
Bicycle Design Competition follow-up
OK, we are nearly halfway into 2012, and I still haven’t started working on the new design competition that I mentioned late last year. I still need to decide on the details and find a company to provide a prize for the winner, but it is going to happen (once I can find a little…
-
Design of the Alize and other assorted links
When I first heard about NeilPryde bikes a couple years ago, the renderings of the sculpted carbon Alize frame immediately caught my attention. Perhaps the design of the Alize is old news at this point, but I just discovered Sonny Lim’s portfolio page on the Behance network, which gives us a glimpse into the design…
-
Porsche concept bike by David Schultz
Not too long ago, I posted a picture from a 20 year old copy of Bicycling Magazine, which featured two industrial designers at Specialized in the early 90s (two of the first in the bike industry). One of those young designers was current Specialized creative director Robert Egger, who I have mentioned on this…
-
Dura Ace 11 speed
I don’t have much time for a post today, but this is worth a quick mention. A Japanese website has a few spy shots of what appears to be the new Dura-Ace 11 speed 9000 grouppo. I first spotted these photos by way of Bike Hugger, but you can also find discussion of this at…
-
Italian Racing Bicycles
When I started to get serious about road riding and racing in the mid 80s, I bought a Suntour equipped Trek 500 (just like the one on the cover of the ’85 catalog). It was a fine bike, especially considering the fact that it cost less than 300 bucks, but from the first time I…
-
Three student design projects
Richard Heath is an industrial design intern in Sydney, Australia. He is attempting to design an alternative to e-bikes currently on the market and has started a blog to document his development process. He is in the early conceptual sketching stage right now, but it should be fun to follow his blog to see how…
-
A well-lit helmet and a trail of chalk
I first noticed the Lazer Urbanize helmet, with integrated front and rear lights, at Interbike 2009, and it was one of the products that I really liked at the show. For commuting and urban riding, I definitely think the idea of a helmet that not only illuminates the road ahead, but makes the wearer’s head…
-
Catching up
If you are wondering why I didn’t post last week, it’s because there is really no need for me to continue writing about bicycle design. Richard from Cyclelicious finally succeeded in designing the perfect bicycle (coincidently on April 1st), so any future designs probably won’t be worth discussing. I assume that most of you are…
-
Specialized Turbo e-bike
I was pretty excited over the sporty Trek Phase e-bike concept that was displayed at Trek World 2009. Like the carbon fiber version of the Sanyo eneloop for the Japanese market, the Trek Phase concept bike challenged the common belief (in the US at least) that e-bikes have to look clunky, utilitarian, and uncool. I…
