A few more Interbike links

Man, there is a ton of good Interbike coverage on the web this year, almost too much to keep up with. I don't have time for much of a post today, but I do want to quickly mention a few sites, in addition to the ones I linked to yesterday, that you should check out for pictures and news from the show:

Belgium Knee Warmers

Neil from Road Magazine

Blue Collar Mountain Biking

Bicycling Magazine’s “This Just In” and “Boulder Report” blogs

Also, I am still waiting for the special video edition Interbike Spokesmen episode, which featured guest appearances from several bloggers at the show, to pop up in iTunes.

Of course there are many, many other great sites that I have missed. Let me know your favorite site for Interbike coverage if I haven’t mentioned it already.

"Innovate or Die"

This sounds pretty interesting. Specialized recently launched the “Innovate or Die” contest on YouTube, which challenges participants to create a machine that “transforms pedaling energy into a new and useful purpose”. To enter, you, and up to 4 other design team members, can post a video of your machine before December 15^th. The winner will receive $5,000 and a bike from the Globe line (like the very nice looking Globe Centrum Comp IG8 pictured here). Read more about the contest at the “Innovate or Die” website and also at Bike Hugger. And of course, let me know if any of you Bicycle Design readers enter the contest.

Speaking of Specialized, I read on Cyclelicious that company president Mike Sinyard and a few other Specialized employees rode their bikes 600 miles from the company’s California headquarters to Interbike in Las Vegas. Very cool.

I haven’t been able to follow Interbike this year as much as I would like to, but I will let you know a few of the sources I have been checking out. The good news is that there is no shortage of Interbike coverage around the blogosphere. Bike Hugger has a separate URL for Interbike coverage. They also have created a Flickr group that allows people to post their shots from the show. Fritz from Cyclelicious is also at Interbike. He is mainly looking for commuter-oriented products and, based on his posts from the last couple days, it appears that he is not having much trouble finding them. Go Clipless has a good list of links to Interbike coverage (with a mountain bike slant of course). Among others, Graham mentions MTBR.com, which has been one of the best sources for Interbike pictures for many years. This year is no exception, so check out their galleries for pictures of all kinds of bikes and bike products.

I have also been keeping up with Interbike by listening to the daily show coverage from the Fredcast (In case you are wondering, I have been listening to that coverage though my iPod headphones and not through these crazy stem mounted bike speakers). Anyway, the latest Fredcast episode mentioned one product that really caught my attention. The Quarq Qranium is a Linux based bicycle computer. The company claims it to be the “most advanced bicycle computer ever made”. Take a look at the technical specs on the Quarq website and you will understand why they can make that claim. The latest Garmin models have received a lot of attention lately, and I expect that we will see a lot more GPS based units in the near future. This Quarq product though, probably represents the future direction that bicycle computers will take in the coming years. I just wish I could afford one.

How did I miss this?

A recent Treehugger post pointed to the Momo Design City bike, which somehow I missed seeing until now. The titanium and carbon city bike received a silver designation in the Eurobike Awards 2007 (you can also see the designs that received gold awards this year here).

The Momo Design bike looks very slick and features a belt-driven Nexus 8 speed drivetrain. I like the design, but I am a bit surprised though that they did not include fenders, or even an integrated rear rack, on this bike. Front and rear lights would have been a nice integrated feature as well. I guess that is why the Giant Citystorm received a Gold award and this bike only got Silver. Both bikes are very nice looking, but the Giant is a more complete transportation solution as it is sold.

While I am on the subject of Eurobike, check out the Cycling News coverage of the show to see anything else you might have missed. OK, that’s enough Eurobike talk. I can’t wait to see what is new at that other big industry show that is going on in Las Vegas this week.

2 years old

Really, 2 years? Wow. It is hard to believe that it has been that long since the day I started this blog on a whim. At the time, I never would have imagined that I would still be blogging about bike design two years later, but here I am. In September of 2005, I had just started reading a few other bike blogs and thought that it seemed like something fun to try. A Blogger blog doesn’t take much time to set up, so it was really just a matter of minutes between that initial thought about blogging and my first post, a marker sketch of a track bike that I did something like 20 years ago. I used that particular rendering because it was convenient. I had the image on my hard drive that day because I had just scanned a few old drawings before throwing out a moldy box of stuff from college that had been sitting in my parent’s basement for years. Right after I posted that sketch, I remember thinking that it was a bit dated and that maybe I should have drawn something new to put out on the internet for the whole world to see. Oh well, I thought, no big deal; nobody is going to see it anyway.

Fast forward two years; Bicycle Design now gets quite a few daily hits, more than I ever expected. Through the blog, I have met some great people (many of whom, like me, happen to be completely obsessed with bikes of all types). There have been a few times in the past year when I felt like I was just way too busy with other things to keep the blog going. Thoughts of ending it fade quickly though. In reality, I think I would have a hard time letting it go at this point. As long as I can find an hour or two a week to frantically type the occasional semi-coherent post, I plan to keep this blog going. Whether I have time for it or not, the blog has become something that I really do enjoy; I hope that all of you who read Bicycle Design on a regular basis will continue to enjoy it as well.

Oh yeah, one more thing before I get all teary eyed from this sappy reflective post. If any of you are going to be at Interbike, please send me photos and tips on what you see that is cool, new, and notable. I wish I could make it out to Vegas next week but my work schedule won’t allow it; maybe next year.

Photo credit: Ameliaaah on Flickr

6 questions for Chad Lockart, Sr. Designer at Trek

When I mentioned the Fisher Simple City bike a couple of weeks ago, I said that I would follow up with more information about the prototype. It took a while for me to get around to it, but I finally asked Chad Lockart, Sr. Industrial Designer at Trek, a few questions by email about the Simple City and about his job designing bikes at Trek in general. I hope that you all enjoy the short interview that resulted as much as I did. Thanks to Chad for playing along.

James: Can you tell us a little about your background and how long you have been working at Trek? Was it your intention to become a bicycle designer when you went to school for Industrial Design?

Chad: I have been at Trek for 5.7years. Prior to Trek I had interned at Sram, worked at HP and Insight Product Development and freelanced in the Chicago area. I have worked on consumer research, electronics, business, medical, POP, sporting goods, furniture products in either a staff or freelance design role.

I have always loved bicycles. I have always loved art and design. While I had some bicycle related design in my portfolio I did not intend to become a bicycle designer during school. Industrial Design is a very competitive and committed career path. Focusing too early on one product can really limit your future potential. Ultimately what I was looking for was an opportunity that would provide a range of skills and experiences plus the opportunity to make a contribution/change. Trek was the right place at the right time. Likewise, Trek has such a large product range, from kids to pro to components aftermarket and clothing that it was a good fit. As a designer it is a great opportunity to work on diverse product range for diverse user requirements.

James: Do you work on variety of products at Trek? I guess a better way to ask that question is, do all of the designers at Trek work on all different types of bikes, or is the design department somewhat separated into product categories (road bike designers, mountain bike designers, urban bike designers, accessory designers etc.)?

Chad: There is the opportunity to work a huge range of products at Trek. Many people don’t know that our team develops products for Trek as well as Gary Fisher, LeMond, Klein, Bontrager, Villiger, and Diamant. We do everything from tools to bikes, pumps, components, bags, helmets, shoes, trailers, and anything related to the bicycle. For a long time we fought being dedicated to specific brands but over time that just sort of happened mostly based on personal interest. Currently we are more focused on User category with at least one lead designer in charge of design tasks for a category. This still allows us the opportunity to work a wide range of products while developing intimate knowledge of our users and the micro cultures that exist within each category. Likewise if you get bored with an area there is always the opportunity to work on something outside of your normal category responsibilities. Other than that, how well you like and work with the specific product manager plays a role. We have a lot of PM’s and the longer you work at Trek the more you naturally gravitate towards certain PM’s.

You were one of the designers of the Fisher Simple City urban bike that was shown Eurobike, right? Nice work; can you tell me who else was involved in that project?

Chad: Gary Fisher of course! I was the lead ID resource on the Simple City. Our engineer for frame design was Sri Madhaven. Our component engineer is world famous Frankie. Pavement Product Manager is Chad Price and Graphic design is Eric Lynn. Everyone listed above did the bike. From a brainstorming level Chris Carlson (fisher mtb designer), Mike Hammond (beyond rock star ID), Aaron Mock (fisher product manager, Damon Rinard, Paul Andrews (ACG) and the rest of the ID team were involved. Plus Lupe, Jarod and Mark proto’d the samples you saw at the shows. Our proto team is the best there is or ever was!

James: From what I understand, the idea for the Simple City came directly from the man himself, Gary Fisher. How involved was he in the design process? What was it like working with him on a project?

Chad: The biggest influence on the design was Gary. Gary had been talking to ChadP about city/shopping bikes for a long time. He does all of his shopping by bike and wanted to develop a bike with great style and great utility. We met with Gary at his house and brainstormed the bike and talked about his view and use of utility bikes. Basically we sat around (he had a foot injury) and sketched and looked at his bikes and talked about what the bike wanted to be or needed to be. As a designer Gary is a visionary and his knowledge of the history of bicycle use is an asset to draw from. When we get in some functional, preproduction protos, we plan to get him on them and start the refinement process. Beyond that I cannot stress how wonderful Gary is but I can say that when he shows up in waterloo and sits behind you while you pump CAD it can be a bit intimidating (right Ned?).

James: Without giving away any Trek secrets, what do you think will be the biggest design trend in the bicycle industry going forward?

Chad: First a note about advocacy. Most people don’t know that Trek has been involved at a national level for a very long time. Our leadership has been involved in local and national politics fighting for cycling and developing programs that create safe environments for people to ride. That said, Advocacy is probably the most important thing the bicycle industry can do going forward. Whether that be safe routes, IMBA, BikesBelong or your local advocacy group. If you love bicycles, get involved! (and I am not talking about just doing a critical mass ride which in my opinion is bad for cycling but that is another topic altogether).

I think the biggest trend is many trends. Each category is refining into more and more sub categories. There are more usage cultures now than in the history of the bicycle industry. Meaning within MTB you have single speed culture, dirtjumping culture, XC culture, freeride culture, park culture and the list goes on and on. This is the same for each category. Understanding these niche areas will be key to success not the least of which is understanding that the bicycle lifestyle is a complete package. This means that to be successful you can’t just offer “a bike” or “a shoe” you have to offer the ability to access products, experiences and services that address bike culture as a whole while being the best within each product category. That will either be through a full range of products from one mfg’er or the ability to partner with suppliers who offer a missed niche and are the best at the niche. From a business standpoint there is more competition than ever. It is easier for anyone to go to Asia and get product, redecal it and sell it. Brand, great product and a great consumer experience will be key going forward as will a brands ability to actually develop products with distinction in house. Last but not least quality will play an increasing role. I highly recommend the books, LoveMarks and The Long Tail.

James: One last question; hypothetically speaking, would you be offended if someone were to post a picture of you in a costume (for the sake of discussion let’s just say a Mr. Incredible costume) on the internet for all to see? Seriously, it looks like you Trek ID people have a great time at work. What would you say is the best thing about working in the design department at Trek?

Chad: Our team is tight. Everyone here hangs out together. We are really a family…I know it sounds corny but it is true. We all really respect each other. This is rare when you are talking a department with 13 distinct personalities. Even more rare when you consider that we are just one department within in Trek that hangs out and feels the close-knit vibe. It is common for a lot of trek people, regardless of department, to spend a lot of time together outside of work having fun together. I don’t know if other industries have that sort of connection. Overall I get to work with a lot of really talented individuals with a very diverse set of experiences. It is nice to work at a place with passionate, fun people. You know you work someplace great when people who choose to leave, for whatever reason, cry or get teary-eyed.

And you can show any image of costumes that you want. I am not ashamed…Halloween ride is coming up too!

A belt drive singlespeed

Belt drive bikes are nothing new. Archibald Sharp mentioned belt and steel band driven bike transmissions in his 1896 text “Bicycles and Tricycles”. I haven’t talked much about belt drive, but I have mentioned bikes on this blog before that use a belt instead of a chain. I know about some of the problems historically associated with belt drive systems (slipping, stretching, reduced efficiency, one piece design etc.), but to be honest I have never actually ridden a bike with one. Well, I wish that I were going to Interbike so that I could test ride one of the New Spot Brand Bikes that uses a Gates carbon drive belt. Spot will have these bikes available to ride at the Outdoor Demo, so I hope that some of you reading this will get a chance to take one for a spin.

There are definitely some advantages to belt drive for a bike without derailleur gears. I expect the carbon belt to be clean, light, quiet, and pretty much maintenance free. I am interested in hearing your impressions of this system. Let me know what you think if you get a chance to ride this bike at Interbike.

Via: Quickrelease.TV
Photo from Spot Brand’s website

Also, I just noticed you can read more here.

Remember these? Sweet Wings

As you probably know from a fairly recent post, I have been digging through some of the stuff in my bike room lately. Last night, I came across my old Sweet Parts catalog from the mid nineties. Man, I absolutely loved those Sweet Wings cranks when they first came out, which probably explains why I still have the 12+ year old catalog. At the time, I thought that the triangulated truss spider was the greatest thing since sliced bread. These cranks, along with the Alex Pong designed Magic motorcycle cranks from roughly the same era (scroll down a little to see them), were way ahead of their time. There were quite a few CNC aluminum cranks on the market in the mid nineties (I had Cook Bros on my mountain bike), but hollow crank arms were not at all common. The later Cannondale Hollogram and Shimano Hollowtech cranksets can trace their design origins back to the Magic and Sweet designs. The Sweet Wings system (cranks and bottom bracket) weighed just over 500 grams. The large diameter, hollow tubular bottom bracket spindle that was integrated with the left crankarm was incredibly innovative at the time. If you don’t remember Sweet Wings, take a closer look at the inside of the catalog. It is amazing how similar some of the design elements are to the cranksets that we are used to today. To quote Mountain Bike magazine’s review at the time, these really were the “world’s sweetest crank” in the nineties.

Speaking of nice looking cranks, Go Clipless posted some pictures of the new Crank Brothers components including a single speed crankset. I generally like the design of Crank Brother’s products, so I am happy to see them expand their product line. The new products all look very clean with nice attention to detail. I can’t wait to see this stuff in person.

Wages in China

A reader, Patrick, pointed me toward an interesting article in the New York Times about wage increases in China. The article uses the Dahon bicycle factory in Shenzen as an example. It starts out by mentioning one worker who is making about 25% more than he was at the beginning of the year through a combination of increased efficiency and a higher pay wage. Later in the article, David Hon, Dahon’s chief executive, states that wages at Dahon’s factory have risen 10 to 15 percent a year, but that the average labor cost per bike has edged downward. He says this is possible because of savings from large-scale production as Dahon’s sales continue to grow 30 percent a year.

I am very happy to see the average wages of Chinese factory workers increase. Make no mistake though; labor savings from economies of scale, as cited in the Dahon example, only go so far. The prices of goods from China, including bicycles, are going to continue to rise steadily in the coming years as more Chinese workers demand higher wages (and as the cost of raw materials and shipping continue to increase). Some factory owners have been reluctant to pay the higher wages that workers want. Instead they cite the country’s labor shortage as the reason that they can’t meet production and fulfill orders. All the while, at many factories job seekers are literally lined up outside the factory gates looking for work at a fair wage. At some point, the factory owners, and especially the companies that use them to produce goods, have to agree to pay the higher wages (and associated higher product costs) and pass that cost on to the consumer. That is the way a free market economy works and that is the way I believe things are slowly moving in China.

I don’t expect bike frames made in China to cost anywhere near as much as frames made in Europe of the U.S. in the foreseeable future, but the price discrepancy needs to close somewhat. I would think that higher overseas labor and shipping costs would provide some incentive for some bike companies to consider increasing domestic production in the near future. I am just curious how some of you industry folks reading this think the trend toward higher product costs in Asia will affect European and American bike companies. Any thoughts to share?

Oh yeah, one more thing. How is this for a weak segue? If you want to carry a load like the guy in this picture, but don’t have the right machine for the job, you can always make your own cargo bike using a shopping cart. Yikes! I’d definitely watch out for potholes if I were riding this thing.

Slipstream jersey design contest

You might be wondering if this is going to be an actual design related post, or just a thinly veiled attempt to force you to view another one of my US Pro race pictures. I guess the answer is a little of both. My 9 year old commented while we were watching the time trail on Saturday that the Slipstream/Chipolte outfits were “kind of funny”. Not good, not bad, just funny. My son is not the first person I have heard comment on the design of that team kit. Since the first pictures of the jerseys surfaced at the beginning of this season, I have heard several riders joke about the brightly colored argyle based design. Yeah, it is a little funny, but you have to admit that the design does stand out in a crowded peloton. I laughed at the jersey and especially the socks when I first saw them, but I will admit that the Slipstream kit design has kind of grown on me.

For those of you who still can’t stand the current Slipstream design, you have a great opportunity. The team is running a design contest for next year’s jersey and you have until September 15th to submit your design (you still need to incorporate the argyle pattern though). Once the submission period is closed, a panel of judges, including Doug Ellis and Jonathan Vaughters, will narrow the entries down to 5 designs. The public will be able to vote and pick the winning design on Slipstream’s website. You can find out more about the contest and download design templates from the team’s website. You also might want to check out the entries that have been submitted so far. Good luck; let me know if any of you Bicycle Design readers decide to enter.

US Pro race photos

It has been a great weekend of racing here in Greenville. For those of you who are interested, I have uploaded some of my photos from the road race and the time trial to a Flickr set. This shot shows Levi Leipheimer charging solo toward the finish line to claim the stars and stripes jersey in yesterday’s road race. It was an impressive win and I loved watching it take place on a course that I get to ride all the time. I have not yet been able to add tags to most of these photos, but I will get to it when I have the time. For now though, the weather is nice so I am heading out to ride some more.