Need Idea about Bicycle

[Fri]

Okay guys, I need a biit of help. Ideas.

I'm a design student, and for this semester I had to design something for a community. I choose my college's bike community (mainly because I use bicycle everyday).

I've done some survey, do a bit of sketching, and I presented my idea to my lecturer, but simply put, I can't convince my lecturer that my idea is worthwhile.

Yeah, actually the main thing is not what I design, but how I survey and interview and can convince my lecturer that the community need this product.

I need ideas from you guys

Simplified study on the community:
Most student here had mountain bike, cross country one to be precise. They commute to the college everyday, and a lot of them use their bike to do some recreational cross country biking in the weekend.

My original idea was, to make a detachable, foldable (you can put it on your bag), carrier for the bike. But to my amusement, the idea was easily shot down. Because... well.. most cyclist just can use backpack to carry things.

I argued that sometimes they had to carry things that can't fit to their backpack, but my devil's advocate said that they don't carry those things often enough, and most of the times (in case of daily commuter) they just left those annoying things in the colleges.

Or I could design a bike rack.... Every year at least one student designed that... sigh.

Any regular bicycle user here? That can help me? The deadline is scarily closing here...

What did regular bicycler actually need? Or somehow.... things to convince my teacher that the detachable foldable carrier is actually needed? (eg: study that using backpack while biking is causing cancer and killing kittens). The difference between bicycler and motor biker? (beside the obvious. you know, why did bicycler need different things than motor biker? why they didn't use the same thing? why motor biker didn't need things that bicycler need?)

I had my own ideas, but I need second, unbiased opinions... Any thing :smallbiggrin:

seriously, I happily devour crazy ideas for breakfast :smallwink: As long as there is some... justification, as crazy as it might be, why a cyclist need that thing. And I mean it (the crazy justification part)

[CrazedGoblin]

how about a bike that folds up to fit into a school locker, i don't trust bike locks myself.

[Flickerdart]

What about an "engine" add-on? A few times I've gotten tired or just not very eager to climb a hill. Snap that baby into "on" and zoom! Of course it'd have to be electrical to be small, which means it won't last very long and won't be very powerful, but that's your job to figure out. :D

[Mr. Moon]

how about a bike that folds up to fit into a school locker, i don't trust bike locks myself.

Hey, that's a good idea. You should try that one, Fri.

[CrazedGoblin]

Hey, that's a good idea. You should try that one, Fri.

cool :smallbiggrin:

[Gorbash Kazdar]

I have a suggestion that's arising from a misread of the original post. When I first saw "detachable fold-able carrier for the bike,' I didn't picture something you attached to the bike to carry X, but something you could hook to the bike so you could carry it.

When I was in college, I too had a mountain bike and on a few occasions rode it to a trail or what-not. I often found situations where I had to pick the bike up and carry it some distance (either over terrain that was impassable, or because I needed to bring it inside for some reason). I had friends who biked more often and they stated it was pretty common to have to carry the bike when on a trail, and other friends who didn't trust leaving the bike outside overnight (for fear of theft or rust). There was a wall mount for bikes many of them bought, but it was pretty big, and they still had to haul the bike up stairs and such.

Now, it's certainly possible to carry a bike just as is (just tuck your arm through the frame and put it over your shoulder), but this is uncomfortable and awkward. Additionally, the front wheel can flail about, and some newer bikes have frames put together in such a way that it's hard to steady them in this carry position.

So, maybe you could make some sort of attachable carry device that stabilizes the front wheel and makes it easier and more comfortable to pick up the bike. It should probably either be easy to put on and off, or fold in such a way that once it's on, it stays on. Even better, make it so you can attach it to a wall or ceiling mount of some sort for storage when you bring it inside.

Anyways, just my 2cp.

[LightWraith]

I have a suggestion that's arising from a misread of the original post. When I first saw "detachable fold-able carrier for the bike,' I didn't picture something you attached to the bike to carry X, but something you could hook to the bike so you could carry it.

*snip*

Anyways, just my 2cp.

I actually really like this idea. I commute by bike to school, and there are many situations where I have to carry it over/around things. My bike isn't overly heavy (it's a hybrid, not a mountain bike, so the weight is somewhere between a mountain bike and a road bike), but I wouldn't mind something to make it easier.

Also, they already have racks and panniers for carrying stuff by bike... I really need to get a setup of for myself, I use a backpack now and it just can't be good for my back.

[hobbes543]

What about a way to attach your backpack to a standard bike rack? Carrying heavy loads on your back isn't really good for you. And from my experience, text books are massive. Well, engineering textbooks at least. But an inexpensive mounting system to attach a standard back pack onto a bike rack would help prevent injury or back pains.

[Da King]

The only thing that I can say is ROCKET BIKE! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vyOwvEKms8)

[Fri]

That...'s amazing!

thanks guys. Backpack rack and something to carry THE BIKE!

that's really cool.

I'm all in love with foldable bike, but It'd be too expensive to built it alone (yes, I should built the prototype or whatnot later)

And I always want to attach an engine to my bike :D. I had this plan to customize my bike to something that not even its mother would recognize...

But most people won't need those gizmos that I want, so I can't turn it for this assignment...

[CrazedGoblin]

The only thing that I can say is ROCKET BIKE! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vyOwvEKms8)

i want one!

[Mooch]

the foldable bike idea is a good one, I have seen private pilots that will carry a folding bike for when the land and want to go to the near by diner or bar etc

also for cyclists my roomate uses an extracycle(http://www.xtracycle.com/freerad.php) to give him a huge carrying capacity on his bike, very usefull if you haul alot of stuff with you

[Felixaar]

I have to second the way to carry your bike with you at ease. It's so often that one say... rides a bus, and the bus stops a small walk from your actual destination. It's a twenty minute walk, but it'd be a five minute ride! Unfortunately, you couldn't take your bike on the bus, and you had to ride the bus cause its a long way away or over a series of hills that are impossible to ride without nutri-grain powered IRON MAN SKEELZ. The ability to have your bike there, ready and rearin' to go, would be invaluable to cyclists ever.

Bike Poke-Balls! Its the answer!

[Syka]

My first thought was make something that would protect the rider from rain since it's hard to hold an umbrella on a bike. It's what most of my friends complain about. :)

Cheers,
Syka

[thubby]

some way to keep basic repair tools on hand?
backpackable pump that doesn't suck?

i don't know, bikes are pretty much set.

could always build a batter brake.

[Burrito]

How about this. It isn't really an original idea, but it may be orriginal for your area. There are a lot of college age people in my area (two universities, three two year school and a private college) we also have several hundred miles of bike trails, from flat and paved all the way to fall and die. Anyway, the local transit authority started installing folding bike racks on the front of their busses several years ago, and it had gotten very popular. Here is a link Bike Racks (http://www.duluthtransit.com/news/news.aspx?pid=1015)

Not sure if it is exactly what you are looking for, but it may spark some creative thinking.

[Rockphed]

I am going to Second(or third) the motion for you to design an effective method of stashing stuff in your bike. A good method of attaching a back-pack to a bike would be nice because whenever I use a back-pack, my back gets really sweaty which isn't pretty.

[Samiam303]

I'll just confirm that foldable bicycles already exist, my dad's friend had one that folded down to small enough to carry with one arm. It wouldn't be impractical to make.

[SoD]

What about an "engine" add-on? A few times I've gotten tired or just not very eager to climb a hill. Snap that baby into "on" and zoom! Of course it'd have to be electrical to be small, which means it won't last very long and won't be very powerful, but that's your job to figure out. :D

Oh god, I know a guy with a petrol powered pushbike, little engine on it, whenever he can't be bothered pedaling, it does it for him...I went riding with him once...I was terrified, it sounded like a lawnmower was chasing my up the street!

Also, having an engine is cheating.

[Thiel]

I am going to Second(or third) the motion for you to design an effective method of stashing stuff in your bike. A good method of attaching a back-pack to a bike would be nice because whenever I use a back-pack, my back gets really sweaty which isn't pretty.
A bicycle basket (http://bicyclesports.us/0675e890.jpg) should fix the problem.

[CrazedGoblin]

Oh god, I know a guy with a petrol powered pushbike, little engine on it, whenever he can't be bothered pedaling, it does it for him...I went riding with him once...I was terrified, it sounded like a lawnmower was chasing my up the street!

Also, having an engine is cheating.

hehe but they are funny, i went to pass one in my car the other day i was wondering why he was going so fast, i understood after i went past, :smallbiggrin: