From ideo/Rock Lobster
From Fuseproject/SyCip
From Ziba/Signal Cycles (thanks Sain)
All in all, I like. Although I do find curious the choice of a Brooks Swallow on a utilitarian bike.
Discuss.
I quite like the IDEO design, its really stunning and the integration of the e-bike technology is fantastic and really well executed. I love the understated nature of the design. I do wonder about the seat post on it- guessing its pretty stubby.
I’ve seen pics of the Ziba bike on their site, I think the flip up trailer is quite clever- waiting on more details.
The Fuseproject bike’s build is great, and the tricycle with load area is cool, however I think it seems to be trying too hard to be designee in some of the details- the single orange wheel andthe bluetooth speaker(which seems really, really tacked on to the point that it is messing up the canvas bag). My least fav of the bunch but still very good.
Overall they are all pretty kickass, nice work all around
Ziba:
Love this detail on the IDEO bike:
I do like the ideo bike, but I have always questioned electric-assist bikes. Is there a market?
In general, people ride bikes to ride bikes. There are a lot of choices for motorized transportation - scooters, motorcycles, cars, etc. I don’t expect this electric assist bike to be cheaper than a scooter, even an electric scooter. So I am trying to understand what the bike offers over the scooter.
Parking 
Street cred…
Nothing says hipster like a $500 saddle.
I know not to take concepts too seriously but the concept of a power assist bike is as old as dirt. Slipperly dirt because the idea never caught on.
I don’t want to crap on these, because there is some amazing details in them. As said before, love the very integrated hybrid drive on the Ideo…I would never have noticed that without reading the text. However, why do these all look like turn of the last century designs before CAD and computer analysis? It might have been the brief (didn’t read it, I admit it).
Because they shouldn’t. Pairing the ID firm with a custom bicycle fabricator will limit the production to what they are capable of. In this case, hand fabricated steel frames.
I, however, don’t mind crapping on them despite the beautiful craftsmanship. I’m saying this judging only on what I see in the final result and what I know about both the builders involved, and the ID firms that were involved. I have a feeling that the builders were simply used as fabricators not collaborators despite what is being written. Did the guys at Rock Lobster honestly set out to design a bike for someone who can only be 6’5" with a 36" inseam? How could you scale that down for someone 5’5" and still maintain the aesthetic of the double top tube? Has anyone ridden a bike with a side car before? There’s a whole new level of control required and awareness of your surroundings, particularly in traffic. The three-wheeler long-john is a nice idea, but I agree there are elements that seem very tacked on and last minute.
Negatives aside, everything is beautifully fabricated and the builders should be commended on that. I am going to assume that these will appear at NAHBS, and should.
As for electrical assist, it’s HUGE in Europe. And Trek has recently been introducing more electric assist bikes into the market. If you’ve never had a chance to ride one, you should because it’s an instant smile generator when you crank it all the way up! Although, from the looks of it, it appears to be front wheel electrical assist? Correct? That seems like a stretch to me…
I can vow to that. They are extremely appreciated by 50+ bicycle commuters over here. (and surely by many more)
NURB: I appreciate craftsmanship. I just don’t see many vintage '20’s bikes riding around. I would have liked to seen a well-made bike that was obviously designed around the needs of people. These are not obvious.
Interesting. I did not know that.
We’re in agreement here, 914. I would have loved to see a bike designed around needs vs. wants or niche concepts. The styling of the bikes is certainly on trend. Every 4th bike in Minneapolis looks like it belongs on a Tweed Ride…
@iab: It’s seriously fun even though it may be a bit soul-less and wrong…
I guess what’s most disappointing, at least from the Core coverage, is that they’ve focused on only these three entries. Of course they’re probably the only three tied to a major ID firm. But what’s funny is that they didn’t even crack the top 3 even with all that ID firepower.
This is the winning design and designer:
http://oregonmanifest.com/constructor/pereira-cycles/
2nd Place:
http://oregonmanifest.com/constructor/cielo-by-chris-king/
3rd Place (and also an ID/Builder team):
http://oregonmanifest.com/constructor/tsunehiro-cycles-and-silas-beebeid/
Chris: Thanks!
So the contest was to build a “modern utility bike”. That explains some things. None of these look modern to me though, more trendy.
I like the second place bike the most I think. Very clean. Nice how they integrated the lock holster into the frame.
First place bike features a huge carbon fiber front trunk. Weird. Weird colors too.
Third place bike looks like it’s made from recycled materials. What’s with the front balcony? hehe.
Likely holds a 6-pack of Portland’s finest craft brew.
Do you think there will be a 2012 version?
On my way home yesterday directly into a 25 mph wind with 40 mph gusts, I had some extra time to ponder. I think I would like to make a go of a concept. I commute on a bike about 150 days of the year. What I use now is a complete kluge. Granted it works, but it certainly not an elegant design. I also looked at all of the 2011 entries. Many/most are something I’d call a super utility for car-free living. Many were just a nice randonnuer. And then there are a couple I would put in the commuter silo. Some of those were done quite nicely but of course the designer and ego in me say I can do better.
Any words of encouragement? Out of pocket on a complete custom bike will be about $5K. I may be able to get some parts at discount from cdaisy (are you reading this?) and maybe a constructor would donate some of there cost for the publicity but is still going to be a big chunk of change.
I have been following along, and I must say, I appreciate all of the hard work and craftsmanship that went into every bike, but really only respect the entries that took a stab at a cleansheet approach to proportion and layout, versus those, like the winner’s which just looks like another boutique frame with some bolt ons…but then again, maybe I’m placing too much emphasis on visual differentiation, and not enough on simple features that improve functionality.
also, the bike sidecar seems like a really bad idea all the way around, just get some panniers