Design Proposal
Overview of complete design
Overall Design
The bike will be made from repurposing aspects of a preexisting bike frame. This will include the tires, gears, chains, and forks for both wheels. The objective of the bike is to have two interchangeable sizes to allow the rider to grow with the bike while also being cost effective. The two frames will have sides separated by the seat and small compartment. In order to have the two frames be interchangeable, the forks of the wheels will be attached solely to the frame and not to each other, which makes a proportion change possible. The plywood will be cut into certain pieces and then they will be held together using screws and wood glue. This will make the bike frame. The wheels will be attached like a normal bike. The gear on the wheel will be reused. The pedals will also use its original gear and will be attached to the bike frame using a wooden compartment. The PVC pipe will be cut and will be attached to the front of the bike frame using a screw.
Reducing Cost
The bike will be made from repurposed and widely available materials in order to keep the initial cost low. The second frame will help keep the cost down by sparing the user the expense of buying a second bike if they need a bigger one - they just interchange the frame.
Addressing Safety
The bike will be designed in a way to make it strong enough to carry a rider and some cargo at the same time. This will be accomplished by having a thick frame attached to the bike's repurposed metal forks.
Durability
An essential aspect of the bike will be it's durability, which is important to prevent injuries, and to keep costs down. The bike will also be equipped with a set of new brakes and the frame will be designed in a way that will be compatible with the preexisting gears and pedals, while still maintaining a smooth ride and easy maneuvering.
-Materials and Construction-
The bike is made from plywood, the back forks of an existing bike frame, bike tires, a bike chain, PVC pipe (2 inches in diameter), 2 pedals, and 2 gears (one on the pedal and one on the back tire). Mesh netting will used for the storage compartment. To make the bike more weather resistant, we also plan on using a wood sealer.
Alternate view
The plywood, wood sealer, PVC pipe, and mesh netting will be purchased online. The wheels, bike chain, gears, pedals, and the back forks of the bike frame will be repurposed. The wheels will be attached to the back forks of the bike frame. One of the gears will be attached to the center of the wheels and frame like a regular bike, while the other is attached to the pedals. They will connect to the existing bike frame. The bike chain will be connected to the gears like a normal bike. The mesh netting will go in front of the seat. The durable weather paint will be sprayed over the plywood. The PVC pipe will be used for the front handlebars, which allows for easy and safe steering. The gears, bike chain, wheels, and pedals will be needed in order for the bike to move freely. The plywood will be used to make the front forks of the bike frame, which allows the front wheel to be connected to the bike. Construction of the bike will be completed using easy to access screws (appox. 1.25 inches in length) to hold our plywood pieces together. In addition wood glue will be utilized to ensure the stability of the bike. After testing, additional plywood pieces can be added for strength purposes. This will allow the bike to be stable and easily interchangeable.
View of mechanism holding existing pedal cylinder (where pedals are attached) along with existing forks to the rear wheel. This consists of four plywood pieces that form a tight box around the pedal mechanism.
Top view of the eco-bike. From this angle you can see the mesh storage department, indicated by the black stripes in the clear area near the front of the bike. This mesh will be circular in shape only 0.7 mm wide in a sheet spread across the bottom. Black stripes are simply to indicate position.
Close up view of rear attachment on the eco-bike. As can be seen there is space for the preexisting bike forks to be attached to the wheel. Then in addition, sheets of plywood will be attached to the same axel for connection to the new bike frame.
View of front wheel and handlebar mechanism with a section of the securing mechanism hidden to view the assembly. As can be seen in the image the handle bars will be attached to a PVC pipe (top side) which is free to change height within an attached wooden block. The PVC is then attached to the bike forks on the bottom side which allows the complete assembly to fluctuate on rough surfaces.