Fuseproject Tries To Design The Perfect Bike For Hauling Stuff

Bikes can be a fine way to travel shortish distances--except when you’re hauling a lot of stuff. Take it from someone who doesn’t leave the house without a bag the size of a large carry-on. Yves Béhar’s Fuseproject to the rescue: Its new Local bike comes with enough cargo space to haul a dog, a picnic, and a large umbrella to the beach--while retaining the manageable dimensions of a standard two-wheeler.

Local emerged from the Oregon Manifest Challenge, a contest to design the ultimate utility bike. Fuseproject partnered with the Sonoma-based custom bike builder Sycip to create the bicycle equivalent of a pickup truck: a three-wheeler with a sturdy front platform, detachable satchels for holding smaller items, and straps for securing items as large as a surfboard. According to Fuseproject's press release: "For all who have wanted to use a bike for their daily lives and have considered the concept too impractical, we focused on designing a useful tool for a local life, not just fulfilling the needs of one type of individual or grafting on to an existing bike."

Unlike cargo bikes that have come before, Local isn't a mile-long (its total length is 79 inches), or, at 40 pounds, unreasonably heavy. It also features a grease-free Shimano Alfine internal hub with 11 gears and front and hydraulic disk brakes. Fuseproject says that the bike’s well suited to dropping the kids off at school.

Fuseproject and Sycip plan to do a batch production. In the meantime, Local will be on display at Portland's Museum of Contemporary Craft from September 27–October 29.

Original article at FastCompany

Oregon Manifest (bike links at bottom of page)