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If you scroll down, the designer has produced images that match some of the ideas from the sketches. They are beautiful and mesmerizing. At first I thought h

If you scroll down, the designer has produced images that match some of the ideas from the sketches. They are beautiful and mesmerizing. At first I thought he had actually built out the physical bicycles from the sketches, but it turns out they are just computer renderings. Nonetheless it shows the power of "mistake" driven design, to generate novel ideas.

skykooler 8y ago
They're not even renderings of 3D models; they're all done in Photoshop! I'm impressed with what can be done with an image editor to create new shapes out of thin air.
atourgates 8y ago
As odd at is - this[1] design has a couple elements that have been reproduced in the real world. While the exact 2wd system shown in the rendering would have some real issues, 2wd mountain bike systems do exist. They can rely on impressively strange chain routing[2], a system of gears and internal shafts[3], or just an electric hub[4] (which is admittedly, not really the same thing). As far as the one-sided frame goes, Canondale makes a one-sided fork called the Lefty[5], that's in mass production and reasonably popular. One-sided rear triangles only seem to exist on motorcycles, and there's an interesting discussion here[6] on why that's the case, with an example of a one-off "righty" bicycle. [1] http://www.gianlucagimini.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Gianluca_Gimini-Velocipedia-7.jpg http://www.gianlucagimini.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Gian... [2] https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/all-wheel-drive-mountain-bike-test-ride/ https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/all-wheel-drive-m... [3] http://christinibicycles.com/ http://christinibicycles.com/ [4] https://newatlas.com/easy-motion-evo-awd-big-bud-ebike/54434/ https://newatlas.com/easy-motion-evo-awd-big-bud-ebike/54434... [5] https://www.cannondale.com/en/International/Innovation/lefty.aspx https://www.cannondale.com/en/International/Innovation/lefty... [6] http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/why-dont-we-have-lefty-rear-triangles-yet-1025959.html http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/why-dont-we-have-l...
- dirtyaura 8y ago
  I didn’t know about 2WD bikes existed! I’d love to try out to experience how it feels to drive 2WD. The Lefty design also looks very interesting, do you have practical experience with it? What an amazing comment full of new eye-opening information for me, thanks
  - atourgates 8y ago
    I've ridden a lefty a couple times, and apart from the visuals, it didn't really feel unusual. I more or less didn't notice that I was on a lefty. Here's an article that looks at it a bit more in depth: https://factoryjackson.com/2016/02/18/cannondale-lefty-the-story-of-half-a-fork/ https://factoryjackson.com/2016/02/18/cannondale-lefty-the-s... I haven't tried a 2WD, but everything I've read suggests that the added weight and friction delivers pretty limited utility, at least in non-electric versions.
  - samstave 8y ago
    I rode the lefty for years. Its a great bike. Though, you can actually feel the fact that its slightly less structurally sound than a traditional fork. But I loved it.
  - romwell 8y ago
    I've rode a design similar to Lefty on the Mobike bike-sharing program in Germany (Dusseldorf, but they are around in many cities). The difference wasn't really noticeable (bike-share bikes are already hefty enough that this is a minor difference).
- salty_biscuits 8y ago
  2wd on a bicycle is just plain silly. Weight and friction are such huge disadvantages to overcome. Even on a mountain bike extra traction from the front seems like a very limited benefit. I think Yamaha and Ohlins made a hydraulic motorcycle 2wd prototype. There the loses and weight aren't such a big deal. My understanding was that the extra material you have to add to strengthen the suspension sort of negates any weight benefits for telescopic forks. On motorcycles a single sided swing arm has the same issues, but at least there is a practical benefit when you need to change a tyre quickly.
iforgotpassword 8y ago
That was the best part. When I just looked at the 50 drawings I sure noticed that most of them had something wrong, but at the same time my brain seems to have corrected what I'm seeing; "yep it's a bike alright" But then seeing these detailed, realistic takes on the drawings suddenly made it so absurd. I lost it at a couple of them and I'm wondering how the author was doing while making them.

skykooler 8y ago

They're not even renderings of 3D models; they're all done in Photoshop! I'm impressed with what can be done with an image editor to create new shapes out of thin air.

atourgates 8y ago

As odd at is - this[1] design has a couple elements that have been reproduced in the real world. While the exact 2wd system shown in the rendering would have some real issues, 2wd mountain bike systems do exist. They can rely on impressively strange chain routing[2], a system of gears and internal shafts[3], or just an electric hub[4] (which is admittedly, not really the same thing). As far as the one-sided frame goes, Canondale makes a one-sided fork called the Lefty[5], that's in mass production and reasonably popular. One-sided rear triangles only seem to exist on motorcycles, and there's an interesting discussion here[6] on why that's the case, with an example of a one-off "righty" bicycle. [1] http://www.gianlucagimini.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Gianluca_Gimini-Velocipedia-7.jpg http://www.gianlucagimini.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Gian... [2] https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/all-wheel-drive-mountain-bike-test-ride/ https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/all-wheel-drive-m... [3] http://christinibicycles.com/ http://christinibicycles.com/ [4] https://newatlas.com/easy-motion-evo-awd-big-bud-ebike/54434/ https://newatlas.com/easy-motion-evo-awd-big-bud-ebike/54434... [5] https://www.cannondale.com/en/International/Innovation/lefty.aspx https://www.cannondale.com/en/International/Innovation/lefty... [6] http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/why-dont-we-have-lefty-rear-triangles-yet-1025959.html http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/why-dont-we-have-l...

dirtyaura 8y ago
I didn’t know about 2WD bikes existed! I’d love to try out to experience how it feels to drive 2WD. The Lefty design also looks very interesting, do you have practical experience with it? What an amazing comment full of new eye-opening information for me, thanks
- atourgates 8y ago
  I've ridden a lefty a couple times, and apart from the visuals, it didn't really feel unusual. I more or less didn't notice that I was on a lefty. Here's an article that looks at it a bit more in depth: https://factoryjackson.com/2016/02/18/cannondale-lefty-the-story-of-half-a-fork/ https://factoryjackson.com/2016/02/18/cannondale-lefty-the-s... I haven't tried a 2WD, but everything I've read suggests that the added weight and friction delivers pretty limited utility, at least in non-electric versions.
- samstave 8y ago
  I rode the lefty for years. Its a great bike. Though, you can actually feel the fact that its slightly less structurally sound than a traditional fork. But I loved it.
- romwell 8y ago
  I've rode a design similar to Lefty on the Mobike bike-sharing program in Germany (Dusseldorf, but they are around in many cities). The difference wasn't really noticeable (bike-share bikes are already hefty enough that this is a minor difference).
salty_biscuits 8y ago
2wd on a bicycle is just plain silly. Weight and friction are such huge disadvantages to overcome. Even on a mountain bike extra traction from the front seems like a very limited benefit. I think Yamaha and Ohlins made a hydraulic motorcycle 2wd prototype. There the loses and weight aren't such a big deal. My understanding was that the extra material you have to add to strengthen the suspension sort of negates any weight benefits for telescopic forks. On motorcycles a single sided swing arm has the same issues, but at least there is a practical benefit when you need to change a tyre quickly.

iforgotpassword 8y ago

That was the best part. When I just looked at the 50 drawings I sure noticed that most of them had something wrong, but at the same time my brain seems to have corrected what I'm seeing; "yep it's a bike alright" But then seeing these detailed, realistic takes on the drawings suddenly made it so absurd. I lost it at a couple of them and I'm wondering how the author was doing while making them.