The ultimate urban utility bike?
James Greig | August 15, 2014
The Oregon Manifest was a recent bicycle design project which partnered five design firms with American bicycle craftsmen to collaboratively develop concepts for new bikes.
The winning bike was Denny, the brainchild of design firm Teague and Sizemore custom bicycles in Seattle, who found a novel solution to a familiar conundrum:
“Locking a bike seems to be an eternal challenge for designers: Where does the lock live, how big is it, can it secure the wheel to the frame, how much weight does it add, how theft proof is it, how do you carry it?” says Teague project lead Oliver Mueller. “I think what we like about our solution is that it’s fully integrated into the frame so you never have to think about it.”
For me there’s always a danger of over-complicating the bicycle, whose simplicity is a crucial part of its appeal. The more technology you add, the more there is to go wrong. Even if it’s something as as simple as a brush to remove muck and water from the wheels instead of a mudguard — what happens when the brush wears out? What if something gets lodged in the gap between the brush and the wheel?
That said, the Denny does appear to have solved a problem faced by many a design studio: how to get your co-worker’s coffee order safely to the office in the morning.
Posted to Bikes
by James Greig
