Welcome,
My name is Thomas Callaghan and welcome to my final year project. Born into a family of motorsport and racing, my passion for consistent performance improvements puts me right at home in product design. My final year design project allowed me to pick an area that I could bring in my own personal experiences and design for an area that I have a real interest for.
This page will highlight the process I undertook throughout my final year product design project.
AREA: eBikes
There is a global shift toward more sustainable transport methods and ebikes offer exactly that. From a design point of view, the availability of a reliable power source opens the doors to opportunities that have otherwise been completely dismissed. The technology is now at a point where we can really question how else can we utilise this technology.
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DESIGN BRIEF
The design brief has three core areas to design for:
- To reduce the effect of windchill on the hands of the cyclist
- To utilise the available power source from within the ebike
- To increase the visual presence of cyclists whilst on the road.
The aim of this project was to explore the opportunities made available by the powerful and reliable battery within an ebike. Ebikes offer users the opportunity to travel further and faster, but with less effort.
PROJECT RATIONALE
Between 2020-2023, more than 130 million ebikes are expected to be sold worldwide with 40 million projected to be sold in 2030 alone.
Let's put that in perspective. In 2025, only 12 million electric cars will be sold worldwide. So, it's fair to say there will be a lot of ebikes in our future. The improvements in lithium-ion battery technology, pricing and power all feed into the need for the better use of ebikes.
User Centered Research
The initial phase began by assessing all the use cases of ebike technology. The reoccurring question was how can we extract more from this technology to improve our every day lives? The primary and secondary research methods used were observation studies, creative thinking exercises, patent sweeps, interviews, stakeholder analysis and so on..
INTERVIEWS
“ ebike users can sustain faster speeds, so we know they experience the weather conditions more now”
- Global Program Manager at Specialized Bikes
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"I must have at least two or three close calls each time I cycle home. I'm fully aware of the difficulties to see cyclists when it begins to get dark"
- eBike commuter in Dublin
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Stakeholder Analysis and User Storyboard
Conceptualisation
Conceptualisation begins by getting all ideas down on paper. From the very simple ones such as redesigning current components, to ideas never seen on bicycles before.
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Exploring both the simple and extreme ideas. Having a reliable battery source to tap into on an ebike real does opens the horizons for what is possible.
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The concepts that were of main interest were:
Visors | Heated Components | Handguards
Prototyping
Sketching is useful for getting quick ideas down on paper, but moving into a physical form allowed for concept ideas to be understood far better.
The idea that sparked the most interest was the handguards. For two reasons:
- They work as effective tool at reducing the effects of wind chill on the hands.
- As a source of illumination, creating a visual footprint that represents the full width of the bicycle.
When we see cyclists at night, their presence on the road is mostly depicted by the hotspot created by their light. This means, their visual footprint is essentially the width of a single light as our eyes get drawn to that point, making it difficult to identify and depict the full width of them.
The conceptual process narrowed in on three viable concept ideas. Each of these were prototyped and given metrics for success for each. This allowed for them to systematically critiqued. At the end, the handguards were taken on for development.
Concept Development
Taking the double diamond approach to the design process, the early stage prototyping narrowed in on the use of handguards, this next phase further expands how these can be designed.
- Exploration of aerodynamics, lighting feature and form -
- Exploration of user inputs, assembly & cable routing -
- Development of the individual parts. Testing out different surface finishes to diffuse and control the light -
- Design and refine -
Design Optimisation
Simulations using FEA (finite element analysis) and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) were used to inform the design and further understand the critical features of the product.
FINAL PRODUCT
The final product is the Flair handguards, an ebike specific component, handguards are designed to reduce the effects of windchill on the hands and increase the visual width of cyclists on the road.
The handguards offer a unique opportunity to place lighting on the boundary of a cyclist to present their full width whilst on the road. Because of the available power source within an ebike, the lights are powered directly by the bike.
As seen in the images above, the cyclists no longer appears as the width of a single light, but rather as the full profile of the bike. Increasing the visual width of the cyclist on the road.
Business Elements
The product has 2 main distribution channels:
- Direct to consumer
- Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)
- Bike Shops
Wholesale price is €50 and €90 direct to consumer.
Website landing page
Branding
A crisp and modern typeface is used for the logo to align with the innovative nature of ebikes.
3D CAD Model viewer
