Americans are ditching cars at a rapid clip. In response, nonprofit Oregon Manifest challenged designers in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and of course, Portland, to create an urban utility bike concept that would get former passengers excited about pedaling.
The bikes are intended to be a sort of training wheels, designed to knock down common objections to biking. Each bicycle was required to feature a method to carry loads like a laptop bag or packages, front and rear traffic lights, fenders, and an anti-theft system. The designs needed to be road-tested, fully functional bikes, and enthusiasts on the internet will pick their favorite. The winning team's design will be manufactured by Fuji Bikes in 2015.
Design agency Pensa worked with bespoke bike fabricators Horse Cycles to develop a new bike concept called Merge that reflects New York's unique commuter culture while integrating consumer sensibilities that have been honed in client work for Oxo, Johnson & Johnson, and Motorola.
Unlike cities with stronger bike cultures and more square footage, New Yorkers have to deal with bike lanes that are well-intentioned, but often not respected by cars or pedestrians. Most Brooklynites will be carrying their bikes up stairs and storing them in their apartments everyday, so they must be light, low-profile, and passable as an interior decoration.
"We're pretty avid bike commuters," says Mark Prommel, partner & design director at Pensa. "And we valued a tight, nimble, compact ride over a lot of other features."
This preference was at odds with the competition's extensive brief. Pensa flirted with modular solutions, popping fenders on if rain was in the forecast, but this struck Prommel as the definition of a tacked-on solution. Instead, Pensa worked on features that would merge the functionality into the bike's structure and developed a solution that incorporates the features into four functional access points.
The centerpiece of the bike is an integrated storage system, large and strong enough to hold a few bags of groceries, but flexible enough to collapse into the bike's central tube. Riders simply grab the stop light and pull it. Like a rabbit coming from a magician's hat, the wires and light extend out and a spring-loaded tray pops into place. A bungee cord hidden in a separate tube can be wrapped around to secure packages, and when riders have completed their journey, a simple tap knocks it back into place. It's almost app-like in its simplicity and animated response.
A super-thin saddlebag with a USB charger connects to a dynamo hub on the front wheel charging a phone on the way to work and powering the elegantly hidden lights on the commute home.
A simple kickstand, inspired by vintage Schwinn models from the 1960s, provides stability. A handy integrated, retractable, braided steel cable is provided as a theft deterrent, but Prommel made sure to include a holster for a hardier u-lock. "One of the things we kept going back to about living in New York City is that people are very aware of locks that don't work," says Pommel.
The result is a bike that doesn't look particularly special. It's graceful, stylish, and packed with functionality, but wouldn't stand out in a lineup of single speeds. "There is always temptation to reinvent the form factor and redefine what the gesture of a bike could be," says Prommel. "But we wanted to make sure the bike paid respect to the history of bent, cut, and welded tubes."
Retail pricing hasn't been determined, but Prommel believes that while it won't be the least expensive bike one could buy, there is nothing outrageous in the design, like custom tube cross-sections or seamless joints, that would lead to outsize costs. The goal is to create a mode of transportation that provides exactly what is needed, when it is needed. "With this bike you can ride your way," says Prommel.
Voting starts July 28th and continues through August 2nd.
