Design students have devised a bicycle with a storage compartment incorporated into its front wheel.
There is no requirement for a car to have headlamps to pass an MOT, or be driven legally during daylight hours, but that doesn’t stop manufacturers including them on every model they sell. They simply assume most motorists want to drive at night. So why on earth are things so different when it comes to bicycles?
Lights, mudguards anti-theft devices and boot storage have been incorporated into car design from the very earliest days of motoring, but cyclists are still waiting for these staple features.
Design students David Hotard, Matthew Campbell and Edwin Collier were tired of waiting and developed a hub-less front wheel that boasts a large storage compartment at its centre.
It seems counter-intuitive to place weight in or around the front wheel, but cycle tourers routinely carry luggage attached via the front forks and on the continent child seats are often mounted on the handlebars.
The cost of producing hub-less wheels means this design is likely to remain a prototype, but it is refreshing to see a new interpretation of what bicycle storage can be.
Imogen
Lights, mudguards, anti-theft devices (ie. a lock built into the bike) and luggage capacity *are* incorporated into bicycle design and have been for decades, as long as you stop assuming that ‘bike’ means either something Bradley Wiggins would own or something upon which one could ascend Snowdon. I have a bicycle locked up outside my front door right now which came with with all these features. It was built in Stratford-upon-Avon two years ago.
This is an interesting concept but there’s nothing new about building bikes that are practical for transport, we’ve just largely forgotten that they exist in this country since transportational cycling is so scary and uncomfortable on our current roads.
Mary Fisher
‘ transportational (sic) cycling is so scary and uncomfortable on our current roads…’
It’s not. For many years we used saddlebags, they were permanently attached to our saddles and could carry a huge amount of stuff without being noticed by the rider.
The road being ridden made no difference.
What IS scary is using a back pack on a bike, the centre of gravity makes everything unstable.
Bish
One of the most stupid ideas I’ve ever seen!!!
Safe steering requires a well balanced front wheel.
The sort of imbalance introduced by randomly distributed loads carried in the wheel will make the bike impossible to control.
Very, Very Dangerous.
I’m surprised you are even giving this idea an airing.
A strong, well fitted rack and good panniers are the best way to carry a load if it’s more than will fit in a saddle bag.
whobiggs
There are many ways to carry luggage but ti all depends on what you are carrying and how far. I used to use four bags but now prefer a Bob yak trailer for ease of riding and stability. I also often use a rucksack, nothing scary about that. But they vary from 80+L down to 10L or even less. Horses for courses of course. I agree the large rucksack would be awkward but not impossible, I use 15-30L no problem. On trails I don’t like the luggage in panniers, too bouncy and can come adrift depending on fastening system. It is much better on rough tracks with the weight taken by the rider. Each to their own.
Imogen is right about the bike types though, there is too much emphasis in this country on sports bikes whether on or off road. More practical bikes out there would help to spread the cycling word and help it to become more normalised and less alienating.
I have road/off road tourer(s), race, sporty tourer and tandem bikes.
Ian H
Agreed with comments about transportational cycling: I ride a Bullitt cargo bike 1 day a week delivering loads up to 80kg plus – safely secured at a generally low centre of gravity in the middle of the bike. Having a load as part of rotating mass,as I assume it rotates as part of the wheel, seems to make no sense at all: it makes the bike much harder to get going and unless the mass is evenly distributed it will make it unstable and potentially dangerous. It’s not comparable with low rider front panniers.
Neil D
I realise this article is about the bike’s storage solution (I presume there is an internal mechanism that allows the front wheel to rotate whilst the load effectively stays stationary), however I have to pick you up on your opening paragraph. Can you provide a link please to where it is stated that you don’t have to have headlamps on a car?
The VOSA leaflet “Your car and the MOT” (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/195074/CONT071791.pdf) says that having working headlights is a key requirement of the MOT, and your vehicle will fail if they are not operational when tested.
Furthermore all new vehicles are now being delivered with daytime running lights – like Volvos have long had – to improve vehicle visibility to pedestrians and other road users. Under European Directive 76/656/EEC, as amended by 2008/89/EC, as of 7th February 2011 DRLs have become a mandatory fitting to all new type approved passenger vehicles (except trailers). DRLs must switch on with the vehicle ignition and switch off when the vehicle sidelights are switched on.
Therefore to say a car doesn’t need to have headlights is very misleading.