Reinventing The Bike Rack With Flexible Rubber

By Bill -



Who says you have to lock a bike to metal? The Loop is a new rack that won't scratch up your nice new ride--and it looks pretty cool, too.
There are dozens of designs for bike racks, from David Byrne’s typography-inspired shapesin Brooklyn to old parking meters that have been chopped off and converted for cyclists. But they all tend to have one thing in common: They’re almost always made in steel. Designers from The Federal, a design consultancy in Ottawa, Canada, decided to try something different with the Loop, a flexible rack made from rubber.
Rather than starting with the problem of redesigning bike racks, the designers started by looking at a material they had--a new type of rubber--and wondering what they could do with it. “Once we have a new material in hand, we start exploring new applications,” says Ian Murchison, co-founder of The Federal. “We look at industries that are typically dominated by one type of material, one single function.”
Continue reading at FastCompany

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AAA Washington Launches Bicycle Service on July 1

By -
Image
Now AAA members are eligible to have their bicycle transported by AAA in WA, OR, ID and BC BELLEVUE, Wash. (June 26, 2012) – On July 1, AAA Washington will begin providing its more than one million members in Washington and northern Idaho emergency bicycle service. AAA members now have membership benefits that cover them on their bicycle in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. AAA Washington’s new bicycle service works exactly like its emergency road service for vehicles. A member with a disabled bicycle due to mechanical failure calls the AAA hotline (800-­‐AAA-­‐HELP) and AAA will dispatch service. The member and their bicycle will be transported to a safe location within the distance their membership level allows: Classic – 5 miles, Plus – 100 miles, or Premier – 200 miles. “We are excited to extend our legendary emergency road service to bicycles,” said John Milbrath, vice president of Member Services for AAA Washington. “People who live in the Northwest are avid
Read more

Country Roads Take Me Home: West Virginia [Bike Overnights]

By -
Image
In July of 2006 a few of my friends joined me on an inaugural bike tour of West Virginia. I spent that winter planning a variety of routes through the Monongahela National Forest, and this would be our first of many weekend tours in the Mid-Atlantic Region. An early morning departure from the Pittsburgh area had us loading up the trailers high atop  Spruce Knob . The starting point for this 60-mile mixed-touring loop was the Big Run/Allegheny trailhead off Route 112. Heading clockwise, we utilized forest roads, rail-trails, and paved roads. The reality of pulling our belongings behind us set in as we headed down the dusty and rolling forest road, quickly understanding why West Virginia is known as "The Mountain State." Soon we were treated to one of many mountain vistas. After rolling onto pavement (Route 28), we climbed over Allegheny Mountain and coasted into our campsite for the evening -- Island Campground , situated on the banks of the East Fork of the Greenbrier
Read more