"Prototype, Concept and Dreams"

With increasing number of big, motorized vehicles cramping the city roads, two-wheelers especially bikes have emerged as a brisk and sustainable mode of commutation in urban environment. Conceived by Lithuanian designer Elena Streckyte, the “Link-T” is a compact beach and city cruise bike that when not used for commuting folds for easy storage/parking and transportation. Easy to fold and collapse, the portable bike can be used to visit the marketplace for everyday shopping or a leisurely ride alongside a beach. Apart from its functional use, the city cruise bike also touts a trendy design to attract gen-next buyers.

Offering a safe and sustainable ride in urban environments, British designer James Bourne has come up with a bicycle concept that features a big frame and front wheel made primarily from reinforced recyclable polypropylene. Hailed as the “VIA”, the urban commuter bicycle gets strength from a strong inner space-frame-like structure, while an outer shell ensures a quality finish to the frame. Employing aluminum to strengthen the thinner components, such as back wheel, seat-post and handle bars, the bike uses plastic to eliminate the rusting of mechanism.
Powering the front, rear and pedal lights with a dynamo built in to the rear wheel, the bicycle also includes a sensor (above the rear light) to turn the light on mechanically. Sliding the seat post along with the frame, which brings the saddle closer to the ground and the handlebars, to accommodate different riders with ease, the commuter bike automatically changes gears to ensure a comfortable ride. Concealing the front hydraulic brake cables within the frame and fork and the rear brake inside the rollers, the VIA bike also presents a number of accessories, including luggage holders, baby seats and trailer attachments, to enhance your riding experience.

Synapse bike design was based on 2 ideas: a complex organic structure such as synapses medical images and the infamous hubless wheel that we already can see on certain bikes. The organic side is translated into the synaptic form of the bicycle frame with good mechanical design to relate to its structure. Synapse features hubless wheel on both wheels and also on the pedal part. There are built-in small electric motors to hold the wheel. Basically, Synapse bike is designed to be lightweight, dynamic, and elegant.

Designer: Sylvain Gerber

No other mode of transportation has ever been as revolutionary in the field of personal mobility as the humble bicycle. Ever since its inception in the late 19th century, the basic principle behind the design of the bicycle has received countless revisions although the fundamental thought remains unchanged always. This lightweight, economic, slim two-wheeled vehicle is adapted to make best use of minimum resources from the users except the basic legwork, which is quite frankly a boon in these financially and environmentally volatile set up.
However, with shrinking parking spaces in the cities, even a lowly bike needs a design upgrade to remain attractive as the commute of choice in the urban setup. Iranian industrialist Mahdi Momeni looks for remedy by presenting his award-winning SORENA Foldable Urban Bike.

The design of SORENA Foldable primarily aims at reducing the size of the bicycle by more than half in order to allow users to carry it around with them at an ease and comfort that would not be possible to do with its traditional counterpart. With it, the users can have the option of not only carrying their bikes around with them wherever they go (office, park, cafes, school, etc.) but also can park (or store) their transportation fittingly in lesser space.

This extraordinary ergonomic bike comes in two configurations that allow both male and female users to customize its size according to their own height and personal ease. To fold the bike, the users have to simply tuck in the handlebar, unlock the two red lock levers on the headset and lift up the sliding joint. They then have to simply roll the top tube out of the body from the joint and rotate frame to get the front wheel to fold back to the rear wheel and fasten the two red levers together to secure the two wheels in place.

This sleek mechanism allows the 160 cm bike (it can be reduced to a 155 cm configuration for people of smaller stature) to fold down to 85 cm which is almost half of its original size making it the perfect mode of transport for a city dweller.

The design won the merit award at the prestigious 15th International Bicycle Design Competition.

Drawing inspiration from feathers, Mexican designer Ivan Vela has designed a featherweight electric racing vehicle that harnesses human energy to provide a safe and sustainable ride. Developed for a TOUR competition, “which seeks to disseminate sustainable culture through the power-assisted pedaling through accumulators and stored kinetic energy to manage it through the race,” the Human-powered vehicle features a big sprocket measuring 40 cm in diameter to offer high torque at over 70kph. Accommodating the rider comfortably inside the cockpit, the single-seater allows a carving-type steering to enhance the driving experience of the rider.

Designer: Cheers Ivan

Attracting the next-gen toward a sustainable mode of commutation, biking, Yugoslavian designer Milos Todorovic has developed a recumbent trike dubbed the “OOPHAGA” that is not only attractive to look at but also easy to maneuver. Featuring a chassis made in carbon fiber, the urban trike is very light and durable. Moreover, the rider can customize the rims, seat, color theme and decoration according to their comfort and likings with slight adjustments. In short, the OOPHAGA provides a fresh and modern vehicle for young commuters that allows them to reduce their carbon footprint.

Designer: Milos Todorovic