Bicycle rack – 3977

Do you know anyone who has had a bike stolen? Or maybe just a wheel? Chances are you do, as bike and wheel theft was found to be a major problem. Many bike racks are very badly designed, are non functional, un-ergonomic to use and very few allow the user to secure both wheels and the frame.

The  3977 was a project for the subject “Design Methodology”. It included extensive market research, consulting with clients and manufacturers and use of project management tools. It obtained a High Distinction.

the first concept that the project started working with: a key operated system that included a retractable lock

The design process produced many different concepts. Finally, we settled on a bicycle rack that allows protecting both wheels and frame with a normal bike lock, while doubling up as a sculptural and vandal resistant seat. The footprint also assures correct spacing on installation.

Anodized aluminium was used as it proved to be the cheaper than stainless steel over the product life cycle, and also the most durable for coastal locations. To minimize the material used while keeping it vandal proof, the fat part of this product is filled with sand (now try giving that a kick!).

The bulk of this project was the research and design decision process. Value analysis and QFD were used, along with many other techniques.

I used sketchup for the concept sketches, as I was unable to draw or write at the time. They show explorations of configuration, aesthetics and spacing.

Detailed documentation is available on request.

a concept sketch to protect the front wheel

a scale sketch that used the different bike sizes to determine optimum dimensions

Playing around with different arrangements, to see which was more space efficient

a sketch that explores more aesthetically pleasing forms

Partially filled with sand to reduce metal used

This was a my first group project along with Juan Ramos Flores,  José Ramos Martín, & Alberto Vidal Carretero. I did a redesign in 2010 for the purposes of pitching to a manufacturer.