Prototype Development of Bicycle Storage Racks

In July 2019 I started designing and manufacturing bicycle storage racks for people in my local area of the Tweed Valley, Scotland. 

In developing these racks from prototypes into products I learnt about sourcing materials, supply chain management and ensuring efficiency of manufacture, so profit margins are maintained. Overall it was a fun learning experience in low-volume manufacture and I made 20 in total. 

I enjoyed learning the design approaches for the mass manufacture of a product as well as working with customers and the reward of their happiness and satisfaction from the products I made them.

Initially, I started with a design of a bike storage rack that hangs the bike from the front wheel in the vertical position on the wall with a hinge mechanism. This is to allow the bikes to be stacked in tight spaces and close together without taking up large amounts of space. The rack could then simply be screwed into a wood wall stud or brick wall using two screws.

In August of 2018 I built the first prototype for the bike rack from scrap steel and wood. After testing it I then made four more for my family's bikes as shown below. 

After testing the bike racks for a year with no issues and seeing a demand from locals and friends for better bike storage solutions for people with small spaces I decided to start producing my racks for people in my local area, the Tweed Valley, Scotland, in July 2019.

Before I began construction I modified the design of my prototype so that it would be suitable for low volume manufacture and be made from cheap and readily available materials. To help me with this I consulted my friend and old boss from Bike Track People, Rich Latimer, who is a Mechanical Engineer and he gave me very useful advice on this subject. 

I decided to make the bike racks from a mixture of steel, recycled wood and recycled plastic. This ensured a strong yet cheap and easy to manufacture design as well as being environmentally sustainable which is a key selling point. The pictures below show some of the finished products ready to go to customers.

I sourced the steel from a local welding workshop and the plastic and wood I already had.

Throughout the design process I realised that most commercially available bike racks don't have any place to store a riders helmet, gloves or ruck sack so I decided to include this into my rack design as a useful selling point. The pictures below show the helmet hooks and storage shelf mounted to the finished rack.

Through posts on various biking groups on Facebook I started obtaining some orders, allowing me to make the bike racks in batches of 10 at a time, ensuring higher efficiency of manufacture. The pictures below show the steel elements of the racks after welding.

I manufactured the racks in my woodwork shop and garage at my home in Peebles, Scotland and in the end they turned out a success. Below are some more pictures of the finished products ready to go.

I have also had some custom orders such as a bike washing rack as shown below.

This has been a fantastic learning experience for me, teaching me different skills from supply chain management to establishing a selling price and maintaining profit margins.