An entry to the design competition for a new city bike. I would like to pursue this design as an electric bike.

1. 24793

2. A new City Bike concept
A common good should be just that:
Good.
This is a proposal for an ambitious City
Bike concept with high-end features,
doing away with the philosophy of the
lowest common denominator.
It includes a bike design, a docking
station design and proposals for a
booking system, features and a pricing
system designed to combine maximum
convenience with ways to eliminate or
minimize vandalism and theft.

3. The overall design
The main motivation for the design is
convenience and accessibility. This bike
must be rideable for people of all sizes
and abilities.
As the bike will be used by commuters
and tourists carrying briefcases, shopping
or maybe extra clothing, there must be
means for carrying this as well.
The looks should be striking.
Here, it is dominated by the colored
shells. The shells could be in different
colors on different bikes, or used as
advertising space for sponsors.
They echo danish yacht building and
furniture design traditions.
The center section will be in muted colors,
anodizing or bare metal, following the
Scandinavian tradition of honesty in
materials.

4. Features
Relaxed ergonomics
Step-through frame for easy access
Low saddle for easy access and safe low
speed handling
Easily adjustable seat height
Low center of gravity for easy handling
Integrated luggage racks
Integrated lights
Integrated GPS
Electric assist motor
Closed transmission for reliability and
clean exterior
Partial weather protection
Good visibility and presence for safety in
traffic
Large surfaces for sponsor advertising

5. Shells
The shells are the bike's main design
feature. They do multiple duty as fenders,
fork, luggage rack, subframe and sponsor
billboards.
They could be plastic film covered like
taxis, making sponsor changes and
graffiti removal easy.
The shells are made from composite
sandwich for strength and light weight.
With modifications, molded plywood could
also be considered, echoing danish
furniture design.
Wheels
The wheels are based on the Tweel
concept pioneered by Michelin.
It offers a way to combine a rugged,
puncture-proof design with low weight and
good ride comfort.
The concept has been chosen for the
next lunar rover due to these
characteristics.
The bike wheels are held from one side
only, with the large hub containing brake
and motor.
Motor and lights
The motor, batteries and transmission are
fully enclosed in the center section.
The electric motor is always engaged
when pedaling, making the bike easy to
ride.
When the user brakes, the motor will
assist, recharging batteries.
The motor can also function as a lock if
the user wants to leave it for a short
while.
If the bike is stolen, the lack of battery
charge and docking identification will
cause the motor control to function as a
brake, making the bike unusable.
The lights are always on when riding for
better safety.
Integrated GPS
Guides the rider and offers virtual
community features.
Display shows instructions for activating
the bike when this is docked.

6. Ergonomics
In the biking world there is a continuum of
riding positions available, from extreme
prone to extreme recumbent.
By rotating the traditional riding position
slightly towards the back, the saddle is
lowered making the bike easier to handle.
The more upright position allows a better
view of the city and traffic.
Also, the saddle can be made wider and
more comfortable.
It stops short of being a recumbent so as
to not alienate riders of normal bicycles.

8. Docking stations
The docking station arrays are spread all
over town.
Unlike the present system, the they can
vary in size: Train and Metro stations
have many docking stations available,
places of public interest like museums
and tourist attractions have fewer, all
according to their popularity.
When empty, the single stations allow
pedestrians to pass between them,
minimizing obstructions.
The stations are made from molded
concrete for durability and appearance
The upper and inner surfaces are
covered by rubber, protecting the bikes.
This also makes the stations comfortable
as seating when not occupied by a bike.
Activating and docking
The bike is locked to the docking station
until activated by the user.
When a bike docks, it identifies itself
using RFID technology. The user receives
a text message as receipt.
The dock locks the bike until activated by
another user.
Batteries are charged using induction,
eliminating the need for physical contact.
Configuration
As the single-bike stations allow for
different configurations, these could be
adapted to the space available, aesthetic
requirements and possible other uses
(traffic regulation, seating etc).
Three different possibilities are shown:
Fan, Face-to-face and Staggered. They
each offer advantages for different
applications.
Also, the docking stations could hold
different numbers of bikes, down to
single-bike stations.

11. Cell phone
This is the users' key to the bike. The
bike is activated and the GPS
controlled by it.
Server
Receives cell phone request, activates
bike and uploads destinations.
All GPS services are based on the server
linking cell phones, destinations and bike.
Internet
The travel plan can be input in advance
and linked to cell phone number. Any bike
activated with this phone will now guide
the user to his destination.
This can also be coupled to buying tickets
online.
Ticket vendors
A more advanced version could act as
travel planner for train, bus and City bike.
Bike
Receives user information from server on
activation. Automatically guides the user
to the destination coming up first.

12. GPS
The GPS will automatically guide the user
to his destination.
This can also be a tour of the local
attractions.
Every time the user stops the bike for
more than a few seconds, the bike will
give a show of attractions, events and
shopping possibilities in the vicinity.
This way, if a visitor wants to see what's
around here, she will simply pull over and
get a presentation. This also gives new
opportunities for sponsorship.
On a guided tour, the display can signal
the rider to stop at attractions, then give a
short introduction to these.
If the user is going to continue in other
forms of transport, the travel plan can be
integrated, by integrating the City Bike
destination input with the website for
buying tickets, for example.
This way the bike can guide the user to
the train or bus.
And more...
The GPS can do more than just give
directions. It can be used for tourist
guidance and virtual community building.
Cell phone messages to the Bikeshare
server could be:
bike vesterbrogade 42
Give directions to the nearest bike and
reserve it for 10 minutes.
2168
Activate bike #2168.
to tivoli
Give directions to Tivoli.
public
Broadcast my position on website.
twitter 12345678
Send messages about my progress to this
cell phone number.
group 12345678 98765432
Group with these two cellphones. Display
their position on your own display. Use
them as destinations to find your friends.
tour 2h
Give a guided tour of approx. 2 hours
around town.
cpx
Join Copenhagen explorers. See their
position on the display. Meet up and
explore the city together.
lock/unlock
Lock the bike and go shopping or
exploring. Unlock to continue.

13. The more advanced
options
Finding a bike
With a Smartphone, an internet based
map can be accessed and the nearest
bike found.
By texting “BIKE” to the Bikeshare server,
a GPS cellphone will receive coordinates
for the nearest available bike.
It would also be technologically feasible to
let the cell phone masts pinpoint the
users position.
Finding the destination
On the Bikeshare website, the user can
input his cellphone number and travel
plan as destinations and arrival times. At
any point where the user activates a bike,
it will automatically direct him towards the
destination coming up next.
Surfing the web with a Smartphone, the
user finds the website for a place he
wants to go. Clicking a link on the page
puts his destination and cell phone
number into the system in one go.
The postcards
For convenience, the most popular
destinations could be assigned a
destination code for shorter texting.
These codes could be printed on free
postcards along with instructions for
using the bike. The postcards will be
used, then sent to friends and family
abroad, telling the story of a modern,
environmentally responsible metropolis.

14. Theft prevention
When the user activates a bike, he is
responsible for getting it back in good
order.
He can go where he wants with the bike,
and leave it parked when he goes
shopping, to meetings etc.
The bike has an SMS activated
LOCK/UNLOCK function.
If he loses the bike and reports it stolen,
the bike will be put in LOCK mode from
the central, making it unusable for the
thief.
If the bike is removed from Copenhagen
altogether, it will need major modification,
as it will refuse to function without regular
docking. The motor will just act as a
brake.
How to pay
Using the bike will be free for a limited
period. If returned to a docking station
within this period, there is no basic fee.
If the user keeps the bike for longer than
this, he will be charged a small fee. This
will allow a tourist to keep the same bike
all day, or a commuter to bring a bike
home in the afternoon and keep it until
the next morning if availability is critical.
The fee will discourage this use as a
permanent solution.
As the users' cellphone is already linked
to the bike, the fee will be charged
through the phone bill.
If the user loses the bike, he will be
charged a fine. This will be more than the
20DKK currently used, probably
equivalent to a parking ticket or fine for
riding the train without a ticket.
Variable pricing
The free period could be extended or
shortened according to the time of use: if
used in rush hour, the period could be as
little as 15 minutes, extending to several
hours when the need for bikes is smaller.
Fee could also depend on direction of
travel. If the user brings his bike to place
place with many bikes already an
additional fee could apply, whereas
helping to distribute the bikes evenly over
town would earn a credit voucher.

15. Sponsorship options
Moving billboards
The large surface shells offer ideal spots
for sponsor advertising. The sponsors
would get moving billboards all over town.
GPS guide sponsoring
As the GPS is used for displaying points
of interest in the vicinity whenever the
user stops the bike, it can be used for
targeted advertising, only addressing
people close by.
As tourists are often looking for shopping
possibilities, and have the capacity to
carry shopping on the bike, it would be an
ideally located advert.

16. Now, about that wooden
bike
Molded plywood is an immensely strong
material used in performance yachts and
even the Mosquito fighter bomber in
WW2.
It has a proud heritage in danish furniture
design.
With some modifications, this material
could be used for the shells, along with
bare metal, rubber and plastic
components in raw material.
How cool would that be!

17. Get a bicycle. You will not
regret it, if you live...
Mark Twain