While most people are familiar with the classic chain gears in bicycles, there are a number of other, less greasy alternatives now which are seeing more widespread use. One of these alternatives – the chainless shaft drive – hasn’t quite found a foothold in the bicycle world. But why is that? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eimLIkJaNFM&ab_channel=CYCLINGABOUT In a video…
Truth be told, I never quite understood e-bikes. I mean, why have an electric-powered bike when a traditional bike provides exercise and less manufacturing and electronic waste? Then again, used as a daily commuter, any extra power would be welcome. Plus – and this is a big bonus – an e-bike helps you avoid public…
Since the 19th century, the bicycle has undergone thousands of different design iterations for different riding styles and rider sizes. While you could say frame designs have varied based on road or offroad usage, the core design of the bicycle itself hasn’t gone through many revolutionary design changes. This is where German manufacturer Urwahn Bikes…
Contrary to popular belief, there is much more to a bicycle than simply pushing your legs to make the wheels go round. Take for example the bike’s drivetrain, which transfers all your leg power to the drive wheels. While there are a ton of variations, most drivetrains consist of a front wheel, chain, and rear…
You may take it for granted (what with all the cars in your neighborhood), but a large percentage of the Netherlands population (27% to be exact) heavily rely on bikes for their day-to-day commute. So it’s pretty sad when you realize most bicycles in the country are manufactured overseas— effectively increasing their cost. Due to…
Back before having a car, having a bike meant you were the coolest kid on the block; it said you could go anywhere, do anything, and cause untold bodily harm to yourself when you fell flat on your face. As you get older though, having a car becomes way more chill than owning a bike.…
Tires are amazing. Until, you know, they run out of air or altogether pop in the middle of a trip. Seeking to make your daily commute less of a hassle, 3D printer manufacturer BigRep just made a bicycle tire which doesn’t go flat or runs out of air. The wheel uses the company’s PRO FLEX…
Pi Day may already be behind us (March 14th), but there are plenty of other ways to celebrate the mathematical constant over the rest of the year. The Pi Bike is a fixed gear bicycle from the minds of Martijn Koomen and Tadas Maksimovas in collaboration with ideas company WE ARE Pi. Inspired by a pi…
Unlike moving bikes, which give you a sense of freedom, adventure, and occasionally, dread, stationary bikes just…well, stand there. And while stationary bikes are useful for squeezing in some cardio when the weather is particularly nasty outside, their outdoor riding emulation leaves much to be desired. The Wattbike Atom is still a stationary vehicle, but…
If you’re a CAD specialist in Colorado with a love for all things bicycles, then you might be in luck. Yeti Cycles, a high-end mountain bike manufacturer, is looking for designers who can help them come up with unique bike designs from conception to execution. Specifically, they are looking for a Design Engineer and a…
It looks like Bridgestone is flexing its biceps at Nexo by creating airless bicycle tires that won’t go flat, even when punctured. Unlike conventional tires with an inner tube filled with air to maintain rigidity, Bridgestone’s “Air-Free Concept” wheels feature thermoplastic resin spokes to maintain shape and support the weight. The tires are stretched around the inner…
Welding is a useful skill to have, especially if you want to repair your vehicle, which was the goal of Instructable user Mr-Mash who figured it was cheaper to repair his own rather than taking it to the shop. For him, the easiest way to learn welding was to build one big, freakin’ bicycle outfitted…
While it still hasn’t caught on for more mainstream applications, there’s no denying that generative design is both insanely cool and practical across many applications –– with many more to come. Among others who have already put generative design to use on a consumer product is Brooklyn-based artist and designer Che-Wei Wang. With backgrounds ranging from…
When it comes to creativity and DIY culture on wheels, few people embody the creative spirit more than the British Columbia-based Zenga brothers (AKA Zenga Bros). Born and raised by eclectic parents in Vancouver, the six brothers (of nine children total) were taught from a young age to explore their creativity – regardless of where…
According to Australia-based Knog, bike bells generally look and sound a bit ugly – but what if they were streamlined to fit the existing profile of a handlebar and sounded like an angel playing a glockenspiel? That’s a big “what if” – but if their recent success on Kickstarter is any indication, thousands of bell-ringing cyclists also…
At nearly 200 years old, the simple bicycle is still a complex design challenge that many have used for testing the limits of materials, processes, and design – particularly in the more recent age of digital fabrication. Although the two-wheeled frame design has remained largely unchanged during this time, developments made from both large companies…
It’s a problem that’s plagued riders for over a century and has even spawned an entire industry of accessories: the flat bicycle tire. Although many have come to just take flat tires in stride with a variety of fix kits or even entire tube replacements in their riding gear, the problem of a flat bicycle…
When it comes to bicycle frame design, the decision to use a light-colored wood such as white ash isn’t always a feasible design decision – but who the heck needs feasible when you can ride around town on a bike that looks like Keim’s Arvak? Since unveiling their Arvak frame design in April of 2014,…
As cycling continues to increase as a standard form of transportation around the world, we’ve also naturally been seeing an increasing amount of accessory designs that aim to make riding a bike to work or to meet up with friends at the bar a more personal experience. Among other companies aimed at making the cycling…
It’s been an interesting past few years for bicycle design and fabrication – among other reasons, the combination of both traditional craftsmanship techniques and more modern manufacturing methods have not only changed how bicycles are made, but also what they are made out of. While some have opted to use additive manufacturing technologies to create…
“It’s not pink, it’s magenta” says Geoff Casey, Design Manager at Santa Cruz Bicycles. Santa Cruz Bicycles produces some of the best carbon fiber mountain bikes in the world. In the past few years they have been leading the industry forward into new colors and clean graphics thanks in no small part to the talents…
Although we’ve been seeing an increase in wooden bicycle concepts over the past few years, few have ever made it outside of the concept stage – and for many bicycle enthusiasts, this is for good reason. Despite the unarguable beauty of a handcrafted wooden bicycle frame, most designs have come across as purely that: aesthetics…
When it comes to some of the most simple and effective works of two-dimensional art today, it’s hard to not throw LA-based artist Geoff McFetridge’s name into the circle. The artist, who approaches two-dimensional pieces as “inventions” similar to a designer or engineer, has worked with everybody from the band OK GO to Nike and…
If you know a cyclist, you’ve likely heard complaints about that persnickety front bicycle derailleur. Well, to take those derailleur woes away, a father and his three sons have come up with a simple device which could redefine cycling as we know it – a 3-speed front gearbox.
As we move into a ‘smart’ era where everything from coffee machines and houseplants are capable of communicating with their human owners, it would make sense to focus the IoT infrastructure on creating products that aren’t just the latest and greatest in technology, but also serve a purpose such as…saving lives? Using their existing IntelliSafe…
Formed in 2008 by a group of friends from New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo, Kinfolk Bicycles was born out of the designers’ need to experience a certain type of product that hadn’t been built yet. In their case, it was a well-crafted, handmade bicycle. Combining their experience from a variety of disciplines, the group…
Last time we checked-in with crazy YouTube sensation/mad-scientist inventor Colin Furze, he was letting a group of friends shoot fireworks at him whilst wearing a metal suit that he made using his pressure washer to demonstrate the hydroforming method of manufacturing. Frankly, we’re just glad to know that he’s still alive. More recently, the plumber,…
With low-volume manufacturing methods becoming cheaper and more readily available, the amount of designers cranking out bicycles and bicycle accessories to the tune of their own liking has increased exponentially within the past few years. Among others who have jumped into the bicycle manufacturing game is ex-Nike Innovation Director Rich Fox and his new Circa…
Originally founded as Race Productions NV by frame builder and painter Jochim Aerts in 1990, Ridley Bikes have been a market leader in creating high-performance racing bikes for some of the world’s most elite cyclists. Known for their strong alliances with their teams, the Ridley design and development team works closely with riders each season…
Billed as a platform for bike craft, design and innovation, the Oregon Manifest is one of the most exciting annual events in the realm of bicycle design. The event pairs together talented design studios and small bicycle crafters to create their combined vision of what the Urban Bicycle of the Future will look like…and then…
Color us impressed. Reddit user ‘bcmanucd’ has just shared his process on the trending /r/DIY subreddit of creating a time trial bike for his wife using his university’s engineering shop. While it’s unclear what his design or engineering background is, one thing is for certain: the dude can build a pretty impressive bike! Here he…
Most everyone has watched The Jetsons at one point or another. One of the most iconic moments of the show was the opening where George’s space vehicle folds into a briefcase when he gets to work (those 9-hour work weeks were murder). While we don’t yet have flying cars that can fold into luggage, we…
We’ve seen quite the gamut of unique bicycle designs over the past year. From the 19th century velocipede re-imagined with today’s bicycle technologies to custom bicycle designs that utilize rapid manufacturing methods and everything in between, riders looking for a funkier ride have never had more options. The Sandwichbike from designer Basten Leijh is the…
Perhaps you’re one of those fine folks who enjoys a leisurely ride around your village in a tweed suit and impeccably-kept vintage bicycle (the real kind, not the re-issues). For most riders, having that much cool-factor is borderline uncomfortable, and I’m sure the tweed suit doesn’t help make the riding comfortable either. For the rest…
Founded in 2010 by students from Aalto University in Finland, ideas2cycles aims to bring wild and new bicycle design concepts to market as quickly and efficiently as possible. Using 3D printing to speed up their development process, the small company consisting of a single industrial designer and an engineer have found a unique and affordable…
For those used to cycling on busy city streets (NYC comes to mind), the need for swift reaction times could be compared to that of catching a fly with your bare hand. With maniac cab drivers and aloof SUV drivers running up and down Broadway, sometimes a simple hand signal doesn’t do the trick…especially at…
You’ve been hoarding it for years–shelves, containers, closets and hallways filled with cardboard scrap. Mounds of it. Just in case you ever had the opportunity to take on a project of epic proportion, with the ultimate honor of having your brilliance mentioned on SolidSmack. It has happened for Israeli designer Izhar Gafni, and just as…
My question. Would you even ride a folding bicycle? And if so, bike shorts or totally gangsta? There seems to be an awful lot of folding bicycle designs. But I’ve yet to see someone actually riding one or carrying one. Not in the city. Not in the park. Not anywhere. Still, they’re an intersting experiment…
Thinking of getting rid of those boring old rubber wheels on your ride? You bet. And what better way to do it than pinning strips of sheet steel together, for an ever so subtle springy wheel effect. Ron Arad is a product designer and architect with just the approach to make that happen and the…
My eyes! They’re bleeding. Flattened by the sheer velocity of awesomeness. I often forget the times spent as a child, beating the frame of a bike into an abomination of blood-letting bliss. Jagged edges, missing spokes, lighter, faster. All you needed was a steep hill and a thick pair of Garanimal corduroys. Jeff Tiedeken of…
For those of us not born with carbon composite cruising wheels for legs, doomed to walk the dry earth and swampy grassland, someone has finally had pity on us. Michael Jenkins from Adelaide, Australia has spent the past three years developing the best possible solution to mount large wheels to your legs while not looking…
Good news for all of you who inadvertently stick your hands in the front fork of bicycles from time to time. You’re gonna have to go back to sticking them in the chain with this new, totally functional bike design from Olli Erkkila. Olli, graduate of Lahti University Institute of Design in Finland, not only…
That’s it. For the last time you’ve tossed your bicycle over the bridge. The traffic is maddening, the weather is ruining your stylish hair, and you’ve had just about all you can take of your leg being eaten by gear teeth as you round that one curve. If only there were a human-powered, weatherproof container…
You’re looking for the perfect beach cruiser, but nothing, I mean nothing, has tires fat enough to match the coolness you want to bring to dune dude. Your search is over. The Fat Tire Sand Bike designed by Mike Scarani could be the sand-spittin’ scrawler you’ve been looking for. He designed it using no 3D…
I see that look in your eye. You want to see some sweet bicycle convertin’ design that makes falling off your bike and hitting a street sign look like fun again. Well, here it is. It’s called the ZWEISTIL [two style], named by the designers, Stefan Wallmann and Daniel Knüpfer, for it’s unique variable frame…
