Project Carbon Bike

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The product brand and name has not been determined yet.

PROJECT CARBON BIKE

Endurance Carbon Road Bike

Duration: 6 Months

Project Type: Freelance Project

Client: SABANCI UNIVERSITY-IMC & KORDSA

Designer: Emre Özsöz

THE PROJECT

The project is a carbon road bike with a blended design of aero and endurance bikes, aimed at entering the road bike market. This bike that stands out from the rest in a crowded market. The challenge was to create a strong identity for this ultralight carbon frame, but with as clean of a language as possible at every intersection. I completed the design phase of the product by researching, designing, and modeling it to support its features.

All rights of the bike belong to KordSA

PHASE 01 RESEARCH

The designs and features of all road bikes available in the market were examined. The design was shaped with the findings obtained.

PHASE 02 MOODBOARD

Bike is the pinnacle of performance, technology and design. The inspiration for the Bike draws on great examples from other industries automotive, aerospace, furniture and architecture--to create a new design language for our brand.

PHASE 03 BRAINSTORMING & IDEATION

I explored many different designs in the early stages of the project. We used sketches and 3D models to brainstorm the different shapes and cuts we could use for our frames. These models helped us discuss how light or heavy each design should be and what aerodynamic qualities each frame would have.

After numerous sketches and design alternative studies, the desired design line was determined.

Final Design Sketch

Detail Sketches

PHASE 04 DESIGN CONSTRAINTS

The concept phase of designing a bike was a good starting point. However, it took countless hours of drawing, modeling, and reviewing before a final design emerged. There are three major drivers that dominate the cycling industry: equipment regulations put forth by the UCI (the International Cycling Federation), aerodynamic quality of every detail of the frame (including seat post), and overall weight down to the last gram.

UCI Regulation

UCI regulations are always the first thing you need to check when buying a bike. A new road bike has to fit a tight set of specifications. The most pressing one is that it needs to fit completely within a set of bounding boxes.

Weight Restrictions

The UCI requires that bikes should weigh at least 6,8 kilograms. Road bikes today aim to land somewhere around 7 kilograms, which is lighter than the official minimum weight. If a bike's weight falls in between, then professional cyclists will avoid using it. A typical frame weighs about 1 kilogram. Needless to say, every gram counts when contemplating design decisions!

PHASE 05 ENGINEERING

Although the initial design provided a good foundation for further development, multiple iterations of modeling were required. Sizes and tube sections changed on a daily basis. To decide which technical decisions to make, we decided to build a concept model quickly and use it as a means for communication about design decisions. We then used this model as a means for validation (through CFD and structural analysis) when the final production files could be made.