Form - Y
During this project we worked as a team to research, design, and engineer a fully functional wooden bicycle. By the end of the semester we were able to create a novel frame design through multiple iterations of sketching and model refinement.
Continuity
Leading lines and continuous shapes keep the flow of the bicycle together.
Subtle
Our design features very small curves and details that are crucial to our design.
Quiet
The frame design is meant to stand out in a relaxed and reserved manner.
Our semantic development involved form research of joinery between different materials and colors that would be used in our ideation processes. From our form development research we were able to sketch out various ideas about how we wished the bike would look solely based on design criteria.
Form Development
Our process began with preliminary blue foam frames. Each member of the team was tasked to create a frame based on the top designs from the ideation process. During meetings we discussed every single details of the bike frame. Every single part of the bike was thought out and planned before the making process.
At this point in the process we had to plan out every single cut, angle and joinery that would allow the bike to go together perfectly. There was little room for error since we had to plan two pieces separately. One of most important parts of the bicycle was ensuring that every single bit of wood that was joined together perfectly
The construction of the bicycle took up most of the semester using all the tools available to us to make it happen. This step was no longer about creating a rough outline but shaping perfect outlines. The finishing for our bike focused on making the two separate parts stand out from each other and on providing a durable layer of protection.
Features
The most noticeable part of this bike is the mid portion of the frame that we referred to as the ‘Y-wing.’ Combining the seatstay and the seat tube that connect to the down tube not only gave us the structure we needed, but allowed us to redefine what the shape of a bike frame could be. This bike is also equipped with a Gates carbon belt drive, disc brakes, and an adjustable quill seatpost to maintain the sleek feel.
