Launched less than a year ago, Detroit’s consumer goods company Shinola is still picking up speed, as well as worldwide recognition. In July 2012 we had the opportunity to visit their expansive HQ in midtown…
Continue Reading…
After seeing three friends hit by cars while riding their bicycles at night in a span of just a few months, Los Angeles-based designer Brett Clouser felt compelled to found Lunis, an outdoor specific clothing brand…
Continue Reading…
A bicycle that can be pedalled with hands and feet at the same time has been developed by Dutch studio TSG Essempio.
Pedals replacing the handlebars allow the 4StrikeBike to be cycled with the hands and steered simultaneously.
These pedals click into a fixed upright position so the bike can also be used normally.
“The 4StrikeBike has adjustable peddling handlebars and can be used as an ordinary city bike in traffic as well as a touring bike for longer distances at higher speeds,” Jan Willem Zuyderduyn of TSG Essempio told Dezeen.
A chain runs up one side of the frame between the hand pedals and the standard mechanism linking the foot pedals to the back wheel.
The crankshaft has a special freewheel system that allows the bike to be cycled with both the upper and lower body, or just the legs while getting on and off.
Retired Dutch surgeon Lex van Stekelenburg came up with the idea for the bike after developing back problems, following years of performing lengthy operations while standing with a hunched posture.
Van Stekelenburg took the concept to TSG Essempio, who developed his proposal and prototypes further.
We’ve featured a number of unusual bicycles, including one made from see-through plastic and another constructed out of cardboard. See more cycling design »
The post 4StrikeBike by
TSG Essempio appeared first on Dezeen.
First introduced as an imaginative concept by Dutch design agency Bleijh about seven years ago, the Sandwichbike has finally reached maturity. Upon its first introduction by designers Basten Leijh…
Continue Reading…
The world’s first folding wheels can be collapsed to take up about half the space so they’re easier for wheelchair users to store and transport.
Initially designed for bicycles, the Morph folding wheel by Vitamins Design measures 60 centimetres across and has a volume of 22 litres. When folded down, the 3.4 kilogram wheel measures 80 centimetres by 32 centimetres and has a volume of only 12 litres.
“The glass-filled nylon material that the Morph Wheels are made from is a composite that allows them to be incredibly tough and strong, without becoming prohibitively heavy or expensive,” said designer Duncan Fitzsimons, who first started working on the concept while studying at the Royal College of Art in London.
“The material gives elements of the stiffness and strength that you would get from a composite such as carbon fibre, combined with the robustness and lower cost that you would get from a plastic part.”
The wheel was developed to fit with an industry standard quick-release wheel axle and also uses the same solid rubber tyres as most other wheelchairs. “This is great, because it means that if someone wants to change their tyres or replace them after the tread starts to wear, they can go to their local supplier to get it done,” he added.
The design has been licensed to Maddak, a company specialising in home healthcare, and is also available to buy from the Morph Wheels website.
The folding wheel was recently shortlisted as one of the Design Museum‘s Designs of the Year alongside a library in south London, a stool shaped by magnets and a new website for the UK government, among many others – see the full Designs of the Year 2013 shortlist.
The category winners and overall winner will be announced next month. All nominated entries will be on display at the museum until 7 July as part of the Designs of the Year exhibition, which includes one controversial nominee presenting 3D-printed copies of two of the other finalists’ work.
Above: three prototypes pictured next to the final design
We previously featured a bespoke racing wheelchair used by Paralympic athletes and a concept for an airline seat with a detachable wheelchair.
Photographs are by Colin Ross.
The post Morph folding wheel
by Vitamins Design appeared first on Dezeen.
Best known for their chocolate, watches and banks, the Swiss are also quite skilled bicycle makers as it turns out. If the BMC + Lamborghini collaboration wasn’t proof enough, see Stromer and new ST1 pedal-assisted electric bicycle. Now available for the first time stateside, the highly engineered electric bicycle…
Continue Reading…
In 2008 the first renegade race was held by a handful of core individuals on the rough, public streets of Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood. Dubbed the Red Hook Criterium, the unsanctioned bicycle race is open to amateurs and professionals alike, with the alley cat-style course favoring urban cyclists and…
Continue Reading…
French designer Philippe Starck and car company Peugeot have unveiled a prototype bicycle crossed with a scooter, designed for a free cycle scheme in Bordeaux, France.
As part of efforts to integrate bicycles into its public transport system, the city of Bordeaux asked locals to submit design suggestions for an urban bike. Philippe Starck took their ideas and worked with Peugeot to develop a scooter and bicycle hybrid called Pibal, which means “baby eel”.
On the Pibal, cyclists can pedal as normal or, if traffic is heavy, use the low scooter-like platform to push themselves along with one foot. The aluminium bicycle has yellow tyres for visibility and spaces for bag racks at the front and back.
The first 300 units are expected to be manufactured and delivered by Peugeot in June, when they’ll be loaned to citizens for free.
“Just like the pibale, undulating and playing with the flow, Pibal is an answer to new urban ergonomics,” says Starck, “thanks to a lateral translation which allows oneself to pedal long distances, to scoot in pedestrian areas and to walk next to it, carring a child or any load on its platform. It only has the beauty of its intelligence, of its honesty, of its durabiliity. Rustic and reliable, it’s a new friend dedicated to the future Bordeaux expectations.”
We recently featured a cardboard bicycle that can be made for less than £10 and a concept for a transparent bike – see all bicycles.
A luxury yacht designed by Starck for Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs was briefly impounded last Christmas when the designer’s lawyers claimed he was still owed €3 million for his work on the vessel – see all news about Philippe Starck.
Images are by Philippe Starck and Peugeot.
The post Pibal bicycle by Philippe Starck
and Peugeot appeared first on Dezeen.
The Open Sight is a navigational aid for bicycles that imbibes a safer approach towards riding than traditional gadgets. The case point made by the designer is that we tend to get distracted while trying to find our way using a GPS Navigator. Hence accidents happen; to avoid this situation, the Open Sight GPS beams out powerful directional laser arrows that are visible even during the day. So basically you end up concentrating on your path rather than consulting the GPS interface for directions. The idea has some steam to it and with appropriate refinements I’m sure this can go on to become a good lifesaver!
Designer: Kim Tae-Jin
–
Yanko Design
Timeless Designs – Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Yanko Design Store – We are about more than just concepts. See what’s hot at the YD Store!
(Laser GPS In Broad Daylight was originally posted on Yanko Design)
Related posts:
 |  |
This conceptual see-through bike by German studio Designaffairs would be made from the same strong and lightweight plastic used in fighter jet canopies.
The frame of the Clarity Bike would be made from a polymer called Trivex, according to Designaffairs. First developed for helicopter windscreens and fighter jet canopies, Trivex is extremely lightweight but can also withstand high impacts.
The polymer is resistant to very hot and cold temperatures and can also be injection moulded, which would enable mass production at an affordable price and in a variety of shapes and colours.
Trivex is one of more than 2000 material samples collected by Designaffairs to provide a resource for manufacturers, designers and engineers. “What sets our library apart from the other material libraries is the fact that all materials and technologies presented are tailored to meet production-processes’ needs,” explained Designaffairs’ Stefan Ulrich.
Lots of bicycles have been published on Dezeen, most recently a bike with a cardboard frame and wheels and a bike that carries heavy loads front and back.
We’ve also featured a couple of other projects by Designaffairs – a conceptual hearing aid that forms a flesh tunnel through the wearer’s earlobe and an inhaler designed for a future scenario where oxygen is scarce.
The images are visualisations by Designaffairs.
Here’s some more information from the designers:
No, this bike is not made out of glass. The Clarity Bike is the next project within the material focus of designaffairs studio projects which focus on using amazing materials of our library in new contexts. We believe that the Clarity Bike could be a giant leap forward in bicycle frame engineering and production. The design takes advantage of an advanced polymer which combines high impact resistance, lightweight properties and a gentle flexibility that usually would only be expected on an old Italian steel frame.
The polymer is injection moulded, which allows affordable and precise mass production while enabling unique form factors and a multitude of possible colour combinations. Initially the polymer was used in military applications. Even though the compound has a lower density than polycarbonate & acrylic its advanced performance includes exceptional impact resistance and ultra-lightweight performance. It also offers outstanding chemical resistance and thermal stability as it is virtually unaffected by most organic and inorganic chemicals and withstands very hot and cold temperatures.
In our understanding the perfect material match for creating a low cost bicycle characterised by convenience and an unmatched unique style.
The post Clarity Bike
by Designaffairs appeared first on Dezeen.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
