My ride with Hindsight

I posted about Evan Solida’s Cerevellum concept in December of last year. If you didn’t see that post, check it out before you read on and take a look at the Cerevellum website to familiarize yourself with the concept.

One of the distinctive components of the modular Cerevellum system is the Hindsight feature, which allows the cyclist to see a live rear view display on the head unit’s screen. A short time after my initial post, I had a chance to ride with Evan and try out his rough Hindsight prototype. I couldn’t post anything until now because Evan was in talks with a possible manufacturer. Unfortunately, that deal didn’t work out, so he has given me the OK to post the photos that I took on my test ride several months ago. It was a very sunny winter day at about noon when we rode, so my pictures of the display didn’t turn out as well as I hoped. The image on the display looked a lot better in person, but I think these shots give you a rough idea.

In response to my original post and posts on other blogs, several people commented that the concept was just an expensive replacement for an inexpensive helmet mirror. There is no doubt that helmet mirrors have a loyal following of users who are not going to switch to something like this, but it is worth noting that most recreational cyclists are never going to use helmet mirrors. I won’t go into detail about the pros and cons of helmet or glasses mounted mirrors, but I will say that I don’t use them. Like many other cyclists, I just don’t want something in my field of vision while I am riding. I think a product like Cerevellum would be aimed at a different rider. In general the types of riders who use power meters, heart rate monitors, GPS based computers, and other features that would likely be modules for the Cerevellum system, are not the same riders who use helmet mirrors. Yeah, I know there are some exceptions, but I am speaking generally about the target market for a product like this.

I already stated that I don’t use a helmet mirror, but I would consider a product like this if it were integrated with the electronics I already use. Take a look around on any group ride and you will see quite a few handlebars that look pretty crowded with various gadgets. Consolidating those display units makes sense, so I think the modular idea is a good one. If I already have a LCD display on my bars, why not use it to see what is happening behind me? It wouldn’t replace looking back before changing lanes or position, but I think Hindsight could be a useful tool for increasing a riders awareness of his or her surroundings.

So how was the ride with the prototype, you are probably wondering? Well, it was pretty cool. As you can see, the Hindsight prototype that I used looks pretty rough and uses a Game Boy for the display, but it worked well and the image was surprisingly steady. The camera was located in the left bar end plug and was barely visible. As you can see in the display shots, my leg was sometimes visible in the view, but that wasn’t really a problem. A seatpost mounted camera would probably be better from that standpoint, but the tiny bar end camera was about as unobtrusive as you can get and all the wiring from the camera to the head unit was concealed. I didn’t take any pictures in traffic, but we did venture onto a busy road to test it out. Actually, we went onto a road that I normally try to avoid just to see the heavy lunch hour traffic on the display. It was pretty cool how much detail I could see on the little black and white screen as the traffic passed us. Some of the trucks were coming by pretty close, so I was happy to get off that road after a mile or so after getting the gist of it.

Once we were back on lightly trafficked roads, it was pretty neat to be able to see Evan behind me in the display. At one point, I saw him fumbling with his water bottle, and I knew that it was time to put the hammer down and leave him in the dust. OK, it has been a few months, so maybe I am embellishing a bit. Actually, it was a friendly lunchtime ride and there was no sprinting at all (I’m pretty sure he could take me in a sprint anyway). I do, however, think that beyond the safety benefits, the Hindsight feature could be useful for quickly seeing what is going on behind you in a fast group ride or race. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to just stare at the screen while you are riding in a pack, but a quick glance is all it takes to know what the rider on your wheel is doing.

So there you are. I thought it was a pretty good idea when I first saw the Cerevellum concept and after riding with the hindsight prototype, I still think it has a lot of potential to be a viable product. Evan would still like to sell the concept to a manufacturer, but I want to stress that, at this point, Cerevellum does not exist and he has no plans to bring the product to market himself. If you are interested in manufacturing the concept, get in touch with Evan. Otherwise; the prototype that I rode might be the end of the road for Hindsight and the Cerevellum concept.

Cannondale D-Tank and more

Check out the Cannondale design sketchbook for a new entry. These three urban bike concepts were a collaboration between the in-house Cannondale design team and D-Tank, a design studio based in Barcelona. The guys from D-Tank studied transportation design at the Elisava Design School with Torgny from Cannondale and in recent years they have done a lot of luxury yacht design. It is interesting to see influences of that work in these concepts. As the post says, the designs are not slated for production right now, but some of the elements might inspire future urban bikes from Cannondale.

I mentioned Alta bikes on the blog back in 2005. Thomas from Frost Produkt just informed me that they have begun shipping bikes to the U.S. He mentioned that the first edition color of Apple Green is back by popular demand. In addition, they have added St Peter Blue and Navy Grey. The favorites of Bone White, Traffic Yellow, and Jet Black will be available too. Also, they have created a small size frame. I am not sure yet where you can find these bikes in the States, but I will update the post when I know.

Update 5/30: To clarify on the Alta bikes U.S. distribution, here is a note from Thomas on how to order one if you are so inclined: We have imported a small quantity of bikes into the States, which are stored at a warehousing in Michigan. It takes about 1 week for delivery after payment. People can use the order link from altabikes.no to send us an email order. (we reply with a payment link via world pay, once that's sorted, we dispatch the bike via UPS ground).

Florian sent me a link to the website of Daily Bread Cycles, the work of young German designer Goetz Haubold. There is not much on the site yet, but you can see some shots of the Daily Bread showroom opening in Berlin on Flickr. They were also mentioned recently in a New York Times blog post, which also happened reference Bike Snob NYC. Those of you who follow the BSNYC blog probably already read his reaction to the Times post.

Bike Tree and other links

Many of you may have already seen this bike tree concept, by Abhinav Dapke, elsewhere on the web. I like the rendering, so I want to pass it along too. I am not sure if the entire concept is feasible or not, but I do like the fingerprint entry/release idea. I use a fingerprint recognition pad everyday to get into my office building, and I think this is a good potential application of that technology. Like I said, I don’t know if it is realistic or not, but this is a pretty cool concept.

I don’t know how many wooden bikes I have mentioned on the blog, but a reader, Roberto, alerted me to another one. Follow this Gizmag link to see a few renderings of the curvy bent wood design, which took second place at the 12th Annual International Bicycle Design Competition. The passenger standing platform is interesting, but I am not sure I would want to sit on the plywood seat for very long.

On the subject of design competitions, The International Forum Design is taking entries for the Eurobike Award 2008 contest. Several categories have been announced and entries are accepted until July 25th. Read more at the iF design website and on this Treehugger post.

Finally, I have noticed a string of cycling related posts on Cool Hunting lately. Recently, they posted their selection of 12 bikes for girls, they mentioned Rapha cycling gear, and they posted about the Brooks Swallow saddle. Yep, bike content is everywhere these days; I think that's a good thing.

Reflectivity, why not more?

This picture, from our local bike to work day breakfast last week, shows one of the red blinkie lights on the back of my commuter bike. I have one on my rear rack trunk bag as well and when I am riding during rush hour, I always have at least one of the lights flashing. Even during the day, I think a red blinking light helps to increase the visibility of a rider in traffic. You can also see some of the reflective tape on my commuter bike in this picture. It may not be pretty, but like many other bike commuters, I have reflective tape on my frame, rims, cranks, shoes, helmet, you name it; anywhere to increase visibility.

The question this brings up is, “why don’t more manufacturers in the bicycle industry design products that are already reflective?” Some clothing manufacturers do, but the majority of the of the cycling clothes, helmets, and other gear that you find on the market have minimal reflective properties or none at all. A reader, Patrick McMahon, recently sent me an email asking just that question. I won’t quote his entire message, but in part he said:

“Most cyclists that I know (predominantly commuters) go through the painstaking effort of buying reflective tape and other reflective materials to make their bikes, helmets, fenders, shirts, jackets, backpacks, panniers, etc. more visible.

It seems to me as if most bike and bike accessory manufacturers design as if they're making products for Navy SEALs, without thinking about the importance of visibility to the safety of riders. I realize that some individuals may not like the look of reflective materials, but I don't understand why lines of clothing, bikes, and other things targeted towards commuters aren't generously coated with reflective material. I've resorted to buying shirts from a highway contractor company because I can't find a good, wicking t-shirt that will keep me visible while biking home at night.

I've always wondered if manufacturers were avoiding reflective materials because it made it challenging to shoot promotional photos, or because they thought it would fade and look unsightly, or if they were afraid that by putting reflective materials they thought they opened themselves to legal liability. ”

Patrick also pointed out an interesting page on the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute website. They conclude that reflective helmets are safer, but that “manufacturers will not spend the additional 25 cents for reflective trim on each helmet until consumers are willing to pay an extra dollar for a reflective helmet.” A couple of my old Specialized helmets had a sizable reflective sticker on the tail, but most helmets these days do not. Is cost really the reason, even on expensive helmets, or is fashion also part of it?

I think Patrick’s question is a good one, so I want to open it up to all of you; especially those of you who work in the bike industry. I know that there are some great reflective products out there, but if they really do increase visibility, why aren’t there more? I think cost is part of it, but I also believe there are other factors that keep manufacturers from designing reflectivity into more products for cycling. I don’t want to bias you with my theories though; let me know what you all think.

SwissBike and a few links

I haven’t been able to post for the last few days, but I do have a few things to quickly pass along. Luckily for all of you, I am in a hurry this afternoon, so you will get these links without much commentary on my part.

The folks at Montague recently came out with a new full sized wheel folding bike called SwissBike. You can read more about the bikes on their site. Best of all, they have a blog to support the brand.

Fritz asks in a recent post, “What do you think of the state of cycling? Do you see anything truly interesting and new in the near future?” Sound like a question that some Bicycle Design readers might want to weigh in on.

Roland Saekow, a student at UC Berkeley, sent me a link to his Bike Cuff design, which he says was inspired by handcuffs and “the club” for cars. His design is a theft deterrent and not a lock in itself. It wouldn’t stop a thief from throwing the bike in a truck, but it kind of reminds me of those frame-mounted wheel locks that you see on many of the bikes in Holland to prevent someone from just riding off with it.

I just read a good post on Bike Hugger that some of you will like titled The Rise of the Compact Crank (aka "The Death of the Triple").

Robb (aka 198) posted about his tour of the Industry Nine facility. He took quite a few interesting pictures too, so check it out.

Instructables user dpearce1 posted instructions for building a solar powered trike. Also, Park Tool has a bike month contest currently running on the site, so look for some more DIY bike content there.

Finally, I’ll point out that the people who run the Bike Trailer blog are hiring. Well, the blog isn’t really hiring, but they do need someone for the Bike Trailer Shop in Flagstaff, AZ. If you have a passion for bike cargo trailers, then find out more here.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I guess that explains why this early nineties carbon fiber Ferrari Colnago C35 with gold plated C-record components is up to 6 grand on eBay with 2 days still to go. When I saw this bike earlier today at a Cozy Beehive post, it brought back memories of the late 80s when ads for Italian bikes with limited edition gold plated parts were everywhere. I didn’t understand the appeal then and I still just don’t get it. In the case of this bike though, it’s not just the gold plated groupo that I don’t like. The curve of the seat tube, the bulge of the chainstay and seatstay intersection near the dropouts, even the relationship between the angular wheels and the frame, all combine to make this bike look a bit whacked (to use a technical term). Of course, that is just my opinion. I have mentioned the old Ferrari/Colnago bikes before and it is probably no secret that they just don’t appeal to me. Obviously though, some people DO like them and are quite interested in this bike in particular, as a collectors item or for whatever reason. I guess that brings me to the point of this post; I am glad that not everyone likes the exact same things that I do. As I commented over at the Beehive, aesthetics are subjective and I think that is a very good thing. Certain forms, colors, etc appeal to different groups of people and that is one of the factors that makes design an interesting profession.

I know that by posting my opinion about this bike, I am opening myself up to negative comments from the legions of gold plated Italian component fans on the web. Before I alienate that group like I did the top tube sporting fixie crowd, I want to say this; if you like this kind of stuff, I encourage you to buy this bike and ride it proudly. Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean someone else shouldn’t. If you do buy it though, I have one suggestion; you might want to consider having a custom gold pad made for that crazy swaybacked top tube.

Win Susan

Do you ever have one of those weeks where it just seems like everything is happening at once? On top of my normal work schedule, Bike to Work Week is upon us and I am involved with the effort here in Greenville. Also, I have a couple of additional volunteer obligations that happened to hit this week. I have commitments every day this week after work and meetings during my lunch hour for the next two days, so posting here at Bicycle Design will be light throughout the week. Yeah, I am feeling a little overwhelmed, but I am not complaining. I consider myself very lucky to be able to work on the things that I care about and to give in a small way to causes that I think matter.

On the subject of giving, I want to mention the fund that was set up for Elden Nelson’s wife Susan, who has been battling cancer for years now. If you read Elden’s blog, Fat Cyclist, you know that Susan’s condition has recently taken a turn for the worse. Elden’s friend Kenny set up a Paypal fund to help out the family (click the link at the top of the sidebar to donate). I have never met Elden, but I have been reading his blog for a long time, so I made a small donation last week after reading a particularly moving post. Small amounts can help; if a lot of readers contribute 15 or 20 bucks, it can make a difference to the family during this very tough time. I encourage all of you to read a few of the latest posts at Fat Cyclist and help out if you can. You can also help by buying a Fat Cyclist jersey. The new designs from Twin Six look great, so take a look.

Sorry for venturing off topic, but I think this is a subject that warrants it. Hopefully, I will be able to post something design related later in the week, but it may be early next week before I get the chance. In the mean time, go to Fat Cyclist and contribute if you can. Also, don’t forget to ride your bike to work at least one day this week.

Bicycle rendering in Photoshop

I mentioned a great reference CD earlier this week, so I will keep that theme going and review a DVD today. Some of you may remember a little over a year ago when I posted about Scott Robertson’s book, Start Your Engines. In that post, I mentioned his instructional Photoshop Industrial Design rendering DVD, which takes you through the process of creating one of his reflective surface renderings, in this case, of a bicycle. After that post, Scott was nice enough to send me a copy of the DVD. I enjoyed watching it, but at the time a prompt review got lost in the shuffle.

For those of you who do not recognize his name, suffice it to say that Scott creates some really slick renderings and illustrations that appear 3 dimensional using quick 2d Photoshop techniques. Whether you know it or not, I am sure that almost all of you have seen a few of his renderings. Some of his bicycle renderings were circulated around the web as an April Fool’s hoax a few years ago. The concept bikes, which I believe he actually did for the movie Minority Report, were incorrectly presented in emails and on many blog posts as a new line from Specialized called Venom.

Before I talk about Scott’s DVD, I have to say that usually I can’t stand any type of instructional computer videos. Just to give an example; I tried to watch an Alias Maya DVD not too long ago. The video may have presented some good information, but I just couldn’t get though it. Though I have an interest in the software, the way that the video jumped from a guy sitting in a chair speaking directly to the camera to screen shots of the curser clicking around on menus just drove me crazy. I am pretty easily distracted, so usually when I try watch an instructional video like that, I just end up daydreaming and get absolutely nothing out of yet. My experience with Scott’s DVD was different though. He talks through his rendering process and you see what he is doing on the screen the entire time. Many of the steps that he is showing are presented in real time, so you feel like he is showing you something without a bunch of disconnected stages that leave you guessing how he got from one point to another.

Even though I admire Scott’s work, I started watching the DVD with low expectations. I have been using Photoshop for a long time, so I wasn’t sure that I would get much out of it. Well, it turns out that I did. The main reason I liked it is because it is not a video that teaches you how to use Photoshop. In fact, the video assumes that you already know the program pretty well. What it does well is present a specific photorealistic rendering technique that uses some of the tools in Photoshop that most designers are already familiar with. Basically, you are not learning to use the program; you are just getting a glimpse into how another designer uses the tools to get very nice results. It helped me to think about a program that I was already very familiar with in a different way and that got me excited about trying some new techniques.

The DVD also includes a .psd file of the concept bike with all of the layers that you see in the video as it progresses from a quick sketch to a polished rendering. I had a lot of fun playing around with Scott’s file, tweaking the curves, and quickly modifying the forms to explore different options. Playing with the file is cool and really helps to reinforce some of the techniques that are shown in the video. You can probably tell that I really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this DVD to anyone interested in Industrial Design rendering techniques, for bikes or any other product. Here is the thing though; I mentioned that I received the DVD a long time ago. Now when I look at the website, the bicycle rendering DVD shows up as “sold out”. I have no idea if Scott plans to produce any more or to create an updated version. Some of his other instructional videos are available and I am sure they are good, but if you want the bike rendering one you might just be out of luck. I’ll see what I can find out though and will update this post if I get any news on future availability. In the mean time, I encourage those of you interested in rendering and illustration to check out Scott’s website and sign up for his newsletter.

Cycling Science

Actually, a good alternate title for this post might be “confessions of a bike geek”, because when I was in college, I used to ride up to the library every so often to read the back issues of Cycling Science. Our library didn’t have the current issues, just the bound copies of back issues that they kept in the reference section. The articles by Chester Kyle about aerodynamics fascinated me the most, but I read all of the articles in the issues that they had. I have to admit that some of it was over my head at times, but Cycling Science was by far my favorite bicycle publication in the early nineties.

When I noticed that RoadBikeRider.com was selling a CD containing all 23 issues that were published between late 1989 and mid 1997, I felt compelled to order a copy. I received the CD several months ago and I haven’t had the chance to really go through it and read everything, but I think it is a great reference to own. Sure the articles are all a few years old, but I think anyone who is interested in the design of bicycles would benefit greatly from the information on the CD. The pages are actually scanned from the print magazines, so in addition to reading the articles, it is fun to look at all of the old advertisements. 24 bucks may seem a little high for a CD, but it is a purchase that I am really glad that I made.

Coincidently, right after I ordered the CD, I found a copy of the book Science of Cycling edited by Edmund Burke at a used book sale ($1 well spent). The book contains selected articles, many of which deal with the physiology of the rider, but it also has some good information about mechanical factors and equipment. I would recommend it too if you luck into a copy like I did.

Since I mentioned Dr. Burke, I will point out that the Cycling Science CD is dedicated to him. Some of you may remember that he died unexpectedly on a training ride in 2002, but he left us with the books and great articles that he wrote for Cycling Science as well as many, many other cycling publications. Even those of you who might not recognize his name have surely read some of his work. If you haven’t, I recommend that you order the CD and start now.

A student design and a few links

Stelian Tchapkanski is an industrial design student who is working on a concept for an electric assist bike. His goal is to change people’s perception of the bicycle and to make commuting a fashionable alternative for those who don’t currently ride. In his own words, the concepts are “not designed to replace the bike, but are more as an alternative to the car.”

My first reaction, which I already passed on to Stelian, is that the rider position in both of these form study renderings is way too aggressive for a commuter-oriented bike. The average casual commuter wants an upright riding position that is much more relaxed than that of a racing cyclist. Stelian agreed with that comment and would like to get more constructive criticism from all of you who read this blog. He is going to start working on a full size mock up soon, so leave a comment if any of you have feedback that might help him with his project.

Bike Portland mentioned the 2008 IDSA Western District Conference in a post yesterday. Designers at the conference will take part in a workshop titled, Yield! Bikes and cars, can’t we all just get along? The participants will be presented with two design issues; improving on street parking and the design of complete streets. Read more about the event and the questions they hope to address at the Bike Portland post. I am looking forward to seeing some of the solutions they come up with in the workshop, and I will be sure to pass those along.

I just updated one of my posts from last week with info about the Zipp podcast, so check that out if you are interested in hearing more about the new 1080 wheels.

Finally, I want to close this post with something that is not design related. I have mentioned before that Masiguy is one of the first bike blogs that I started reading and is one of a handful of blogs that prompted me to start this one. Tim (aka Masiguy) is a great guy, so I was upset to hear that he crashed pretty hard at the San Diego velodrome the other night and suffered a concussion, broken bones, and other injuries. As you can see from the picture at BikeBiz, the crash was definitely a nasty one. If you want to help out with Tim’s recovery, his friend Blue Squirrel has set up a Pay Pal “get well” fund. To contribute, follow the link from his post, where you can also read updates on Tim’s road to recovery. Get well Masiguy; I’m looking forward to some updates on that blog of yours soon.