7 (potentially) game-changing bike designs
From a bike that's also a bike lock, to one that senses the proximity of other vehicles, we bring you some of the latest and most innovative new designs.
1. The transparent, flexible bike
Clarity by Designaffairs Studio
Photo: Designaffairs
'We believe that the Clarity Bike could be a giant leap forward in bicycle frame engineering and production,' say the designers of the Clarity Bike. 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.
Photo: Designaffairs
The polymer, which was originally used for military applications, is injection moulded, which allows affordable and precise mass production while enabling unique form factors and a multitude of possible colour combinations.
Photo: Designaffairs
http://studioblog.designaffairs.com/clarity-bike/
2. The bike in a bag
Kit Bike by Lucid Design
Photo: Lucid Design
Lucid Design, the company behind the ingenious Kit Bike describe it simply as 'a bike in a bag'.
Built from simple twist joints and hollow tubes, all mounted from one side, the Kit Bike is made for easy assembly or dismantling and makes travelling with a bike easier than ever.
Photo: Lucid Design
'Conventional bikes are awkward in every way except when you ride them,' say the Lucid Design team. 'The Kit Bike consists of simple twist joints that lock with aluminium hollow tubes using a specially designed key. The entire bike can be assembled or dismantled from one side making the process extremely simple and quick.'
Photo: Lucid Design
When not in use, the bike can be stored in a stylish leather bag that is divided into three sections to store the two wheels on either side, and the components in between. It can also be carried as a backpack.
3. The bike with the styling of a classic Italian automobile
Pininfarina Fuoriserie
Photo: Pininfarina
Designed with bicycle maker 43 Milano, the Pininfarina Fuoriserie is inspired by the iconic tailor-made cars of the Thirties and brings together ultra-fine craftsmanship, high-quality materials and cutting-edge technology.
Photo: Pininfarina
The frame is made of tubes of chromed steel hand-welded by skilled artisans and finished with a walnut briar-root coating that's redolent of the wood veneer panelling inside some of the world's most luxurious cars.
Photo: Pininfarina
Handlebars are dressed with interlaced leather similar to that in the interior of the classic Lancia Astura Bocca, an iconic car designed by Pininfarina in 1936.
http://www.pininfarina.com/en/pininfarina_fuoriserie_bike
4. The 'smart' bycicle.
Vanhawks Valour
Photo: Vanhawks
'You're connected, why shouldn't your bike be?' That question is the premise behind the Vanhawks Valour, whose makers describe it as a 'smart bicycle'.
The Vanhawks designers continue: 'Technology impacts our lives in countless ways, yet we ride the same archaic bicycles to and from work every day, disconnected from our environment and ourselves. It's time to integrate the most influential technology into the bicycle.'
Photo: Vanhawks
The carbon-fibre-frame bicycle was designed specifically for urban commuters and uses bluetooth to connect to the GPS on a smart phone, relaying turn-by-turn directions to the rider using LEDs built into the handlebars.
It also has built-in Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Speed sensor, GPS Receiver, Mesh-network, Blindspot detection sensors and LEDs and uses ultrasonic sensors to detect objects in a rider's blind spot and sends alerts via vibrating handlebars when it detects a potential threat
5. The folding bike
Vello Bike
We've seen plenty of folding bikes before - but the Vello Bike combines a specially developed folding mechanism with a magnetic shock absorber so that the rear wheel can be brought forward with a simple rotary movement. This enables the bike to be wheeled along with ease - even in small, awkward spaces such as lifts or public transport.
The front and rear lights are integrated into the frame while foldable fenders protect the rider's clothing in all types of weather. According to the designers, the bike's 20 inch wheels and small size make it more responsive than other bikes - perfect for those of us why live crowded, congested cities.
'The bike can be folded in half with one smart move and in one second without you having to use your hands. You simply flip the back wheel with your foot and roll the compact bike wherever you need to go.
6. The folding electric bike
'Impossible' by Impossible Technology
Photo: Impossible Technology
The 'impossible' by Impossible Technology, is a folding electric bike that can fit into a backpack for easy transpiration. It weighs less than 5kg and the design features a frame built around circles instead of a single horizontal girder to help equally spread the rider's weight.
Photo: Impossible Technology
7. The bike that's also a bike lock
Yerka Project
Photo: Yerka Project
Bike locks are essential if you own a bike and live in the city - but they are, frankly, a pain to carry around. With the Yerka Project, though, bike and bike lock are fused in an ingenious design that makes you wonder why no one has thought of it before.
'Every second a bike gets stolen,' say the bike's designers, Chilean engineering students Juan José Monsalve, Andrés Roi and Cristóbal Cabello.
Because the frame locks around secure objects (such as a railing or a tree), the design means that the only way to steal the bike is to break the lock and thus the bike itself, making it, so its makers clain, 'unstealable'.
