24th IBDC Preview

Leading the Design Trends of Bicycle Industry

- International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC)

This is the year of the 24th International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC). The competition is organized in Taiwan, which is the first bicycle concept design competition in the world that introduces creative bicycle designs and original concepts. Over the years, designers from a total of 87 countries around the world have been participated in the competition. The significance of IBDC is hoping to assist Taiwanese bicycle industry in integrating abundant creative design capabilities in the world in its excellent manufacturing capacity, especially when bicycles changed from a simple means of transportation to the carriers of sports competitions, fitness, leisure, and entertainment. When new demands and ideas are created, the new market could be grasped.

Taiwan is now the largest exporter of bicycles in the world, which drives the bicycle industry especially electrically power-assisted bicycles to boom when the pandemic changes the consumers’ lifestyles around the world and the four major industry trends towards lightweight, motorization, intelligence and

networking as well as sharing and service. According to the data from the Ministry of Finance, the export volume of electrically power-assisted bicycles in 2021 increased by nearly 30% compared to 2020. The technologies and innovative applications of electrically power-assisted bicycles laid out in advance are the crucial point for Taiwanese industry to usher in the upcoming golden age. To echo the above trends, the theme of the 24th IBDC is formulated to be “Intelligence, Sustainability, and Living from Heart.” This special issue contains 17 award-winning designs, which links different styles and forms of bicycles, such as mobile office bicycles, welcab, shared bikes, cargo bikes, etc. All these entries are fully integrated with the new lifestyles and considered to be feasible, which are very ingenious and eye-catching.

So far, IBDC has accumulated a database of nearly 15,000 applied entries, therein lies some innovative products and start-ups. Follow-up events such as symposiums, workshops, and international forums can further enhance exchanges between bicycle manufacturers and international designers as well as nurture more talented designers for the industry, achieving the goal of “Creativity comes from the world, and innovation is realized in Taiwan.”

Chyou-Huey, Chiou

Director General of Department of Industrial Technology, Ministry of Economic Affairs

The International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC) has been dedicated itself to providing a platform of innovative ideas and creative concepts for the bicycle industry. Through planning the competition and related series of events, it enables designers creative exchange and work practice opportunities at home and abroad, as well as further cooperating to derive commercialized products from cross-disciplinary collaboration to make Taiwan a global bicycle design’s place of origin, bringing together leading voices in the design world and the business ecosystem, jointly contributing to the future of cycling.

This is the year of the 24th IBDC. For years, 14,417 outstanding design works from 87 countries around the world have been brought together to participate in the competition, which has integrated many innovative ideas into the bicycle industry, and even inspired productions of design works on cross-fields. For example, there were many design works related to the post-pandemic era and new lifestyles positively affirmed by the judges this year. It could be seen that more and more relevant dimensions of bicycle designs were

created in response and brought more efficient combination and convenient application for people’s lives in the wake of the global industry trends and changes.

IBDC has been changed to a biennial event since the 24th competition. It is hoped that the theme of the competition will be shaped every time through the conduction of bicycle innovation and design trend research, design workshops, expert forums, etc., during the event, and meanwhile, the efficiency of IBDC processing will be improved after related online and offline promotion and introduction. In addition, it actively links the industry, universities, and research institutes as well, including implementing the Taipei Cycle d&i awards 2022, which is co-hosted by Taiwan External Trade Development Council and Taiwan Bicycle Association, for the first time. By linking these two design platforms, we hope to solidify the status of bicycle design kingdom of Taiwan, promoting innovative ideas from designs to products, and further practicing talent cultivation and business incubation.

Wu 吳永盛

Mr. Wu has been working hard for decades in the automotive industry, responsible for product development and electric car planning after graduating from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at National Chiao Tung University. Currently, he works as the general manager at CHC, aiming to lead CHC developing intelligent manufacturing, MIT bicycle system, talent cultivation, and international cooperation with his extensive experience.

Willie Wu currently works at Merida Industry Co., Ltd. as the director of the R&D Department. He specializes in bicycle design and development, and has 20 years of experience working in this field. In addition, he has been a judge for a variety of bicycle related events, including bicycle innovation awards and Taiwan Bicycle Industry Standard (TBIS).

Scott Chen is the chief operating officer of HPB Business Division at Giant Manufacturing, who is in charge of planning and leading the electric car development and strategy. He has been devoted to Giant and the bicycle industry for years, and is undoubtedly one of the most important members of Giant.

Giant Techno Center

Director/ Giant Techno Center

Engineering Department

Gideon Loewy is the founder as well as CEO of Scandinavian Design Consultant Co., Ltd. For years, he has been the design strategy consultant of the EU and Nordic Countries, devoting himself in promoting design communication between Nordic Countries and Taiwan. His works and professionalism are highly recognized in international design competitions, and he has also been the design consultant of government, such as the Ministry of Culture and TAITRA.

Johann Geiger studied Industrial Design at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. After graduating, he joined target-DESIGN Studio, where he was then employed as the chief designer from 1988 to 2004. Since that time, he has been teaching Transportation and Industrial Design at the Dayeh University in Taiwan. He also works as a designer and a consultant.

Section at Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI). She has numerous of experience in assisting the industry to reform with a more novel and distinct look. Furthermore, she had also been implementing industry plans and projects as well as participating in industry conferences.

Mr. Lai has been working at CHC for 27 years, who is currently the manager of R&D Department. While working at CHC, he has been executing many government projects, including bicycle system and component design and development, innovative design platform development, etc., accumulating numerous experience in the bicycle industry.

BCS can convert into bike and scooter. BCS can be used for parent-child sharing during family outings and can also be used for single-person bike that switch between long-range and shortrange. BCS is a bicycle that accompanies the growth of user and a design that integrates short and medium distance movement.

Personal Mobile Workstation

Buck is an electric bicycle specially designed for office workers; users can freely choose the workplace they want. It is equipped with a retractable lift table in the frame and a briefcase-sized bracket at the rear of the bike. When you want to work, the user could just rotate the seat and pull out the table to adjust it to the right angle. Buck also has a built-in smart route navigation. Users only need to select the desired location type, and the navigation can help users calculate and find the most suitable office location nearby.

Due to the impact of the epidemic, people who used to rely on public transportation to commute have begun to commute by bicycle and scooter. DUAL is an electrically powered dual-function scooter that allows commuters to change their riding style at any time. Riding in a sitting position can be more relaxed and comfortable, and with standing mode allows users to be more free in crowded places and freely decide their own riding style.

EHC is a travel-use handcycle with the auxiliary power unit system of an mid-drive electric motor, which provides a good exercise and travel experience for the physically challenged with lower limb disability. Based on the structure of a traditional hand-cranked bicycle, the handcycle integrates an electric motor to simplify the transmission mechanism and provide auxiliary power to reduce the difficulty of long-distance riding.

On the other hand, through the use of new polymer technology, 3D printing and carbon fiber materials, provide a styling and lightweight bicycle body design.

E-rad

E-Rad is a smart bicycle for track cycling training. It detects and records riders’ information while riding, and generates the most suitable training script for each mode after analyzing the data. There are 4 types of training modes: Spinning Wheel, Racing, Aerobic, and Sprint. The riders can switch between modes with the tablet on the bike to make the best out of their training. Or just simply enjoy the riding while observing the datas.

Most of the existing cargo bicycles on the market cannot be disassembled or folded, which takes up space and is very inconvenient to ride in daily life. Therefore, the IFold-Bike has improved the problem of space occupied by shelves that cannot be stored. It is more in line with the way modern people use bicycles, that is, multi-functional use, allowing you to ride easily and freely in different situations, creating a brand new experience.

There is a handle in the middle of the shelf, which allows users to fold and store more effortlessly. Pull up the front wheel and move back naturally. After the whole body is locked backward, the left and right sides are retracted toward the center to complete the folding and storage.

PEGASUS

崔鎵宥

There is a radar detection device on the car, mainly in bicycle riding, to continuously detect the position and speed of objects within a 10m fan-shaped range behind the rider. The detection data is transmitted to the rider's mobile APP, and the APP will immediately send out which side is coming (rear left/rear right/radial) to protect both drivers. The hearing-impaired person can detect and identify the warning sound through the receiver installed in the car, and give a reminder through the APP. When it is necessary to let the other party know that there are special difficulties, (the horn has been honked many times...), the sign projected on the ground can also be selected as a reminder.

The car body has an intimate function of an offset sensing device. Sometimes when riding, inevitably, you will not notice whether the body is off-center, which may cause the center of gravity to be unstable and fall, causing your safety problems (falling/being approached from behind by car collision). Therefore, when the car body detects the deviation of the center of gravity, it will automatically turn on the rear direction lights and flash the direction of deviation (left/right) to warn the cars behind to pay attention, and the mobile phone will also receive information reminders. The timing will disappear automatically, so it can also be used as normal direction light.

Taking the niche market as the departure point, Scout equip with intelligent drone technology and reinforced carbon fiber frame also increasing the safety and accessibility. Using drone to explore the terrain, seek safe routes and report back to the rider through the APP, also recording the processes of the self-challenge games. The drone is designed for the battery of the bike itself, also providing assistance power to the rider when going uphill and recharging when going downhill. The drone can be easily disassembled and recharged at ordinary times, achieving sustainability and mutualistic symbiosis.

Ting-Han, CHEN 陳庭翰 that is super simple to use. It only takes 3 steps to mount the bike to the trainer, taking less than 30 seconds. Since people nowadays spend so much time on work, they are lack time to exercise. SHiFT fulfills the needs of people who want to commute and exercise at home due to several conditions. The smart trainer does not wear tires and is super silent, which is friendly to neighbors. A lightweight motor system on the bicycle fulfills short commute needs, and the trainer also works as a charger.

Steed is an electrically assisted unicycle that is balanced by built-in gyroscopes on the wheels. Making riding a unicycle no longer a challenge, anyone can easily get started. There are grips to assist getting on the bike and make riding the unicycle as easy as a bicycle. Different from ordinary unicycles, Steed is more like a horse, and the neat body lines also add a lot of visual effects. Traveling through the city is like running on the Mongolian steppe.

The body is equipped with a small screen that can be connected to a mobile phone and display body-related information such as power, and the seat cushion can be freely adjusted in height.

Licht Intelligent Bike Finder Light

Licht Intelligent Bike Finder Light (Licht) can be installed on the stem of a bicycle and controlled by cellphone through the Internet. When you are looking for the bike, it flashes and emits a customized sound to show the bike's location, so you can find your bike quickly.

The Licht is also a bicycle light normally used at night. When you are riding the bike, the Licht's sensor will detect the brightness, humidity and vibration. Through the Licht’s sensor, it will automatically turn on different modes of light to protect the rider's safety.

Ultimate QUIK Release Device

Modern bicycle through axle has become a “Slow Release” in many ways. Nowadays, UCI mechanics rather switch a complete bike than simply replace a broken wheel during racing games. This is a reason why we come up with an ultimate “Quick Release” design through axle.

Meet the ultimate QUIK release through axle device. Just with a simple twist of the knob, you will be able to install or to remove the wheels from bicycle in seconds. The knob is always at locked position unless you want it to be unlocked, so the mechanism is super secure during all time.

The QUIK knob is structured by a mechanism similar to a camera aperture plate so-called Iris diaphragm. The center diameter expands while the knob is being twisting until the axle is allowed passing through the center. The knob will shrink to its smallest diameter due to a spring motion.

In Taiwan, going to the market and shopping for ingredients is part of our daily life, but when we go to the market, we often see people riding a motorcycle shopping for ingredients. It is dangerous to ride a motorcycle in a narrow passage full of people. The emission of exhaust gas not only makes everyone smog, but also causes air pollution. But it has a reason to ride a bike to buy ingredients. Walking for a long time with large bags is hard for some elderly people with limited mobility or lack of energy.

In response to these problems, I designed ComBike. It is an electric bicycle combined with a cart. After the user rides it to the market, he parks the main body of the bicycle outside and only pulls the cart into the market, making grocery shopping more casual and easier.

Draisine + is a parent-child interactive balance bike. It was designed and developed for the father of bicycles, draisienne, the world’s first bicycle prototype. The use method is similar to the balance bike used by children today. When riding a balance bike, parents cannot perform activities in the same way as their children. They hope that the parent-child balance bike can increase the interaction and teach the correct way to use it, use the gap in the frame of parents bike to accommodate the child bike, and use the quick-release axle and bolts to separate and combine Draisine +.

Sbike is a large-capacity shared electric-assisted bicycle designed for people who travel with heavy luggage and need to ride a bicycle. Especially designed to accommodate luggage as large as a 20-inch suitcase. Usually, you can put items in the storage basket even if you are carrying a school bag or shopping groceries. Try to make a shared bicycle that can effectively share the weight of the rider’s bag. In addition, Sbike uses chainless shaft transmission and electric auxiliary mode to achieve safer and more labor-saving effects during riding. This shared bicycle is appropriately configures at each shared bicycle station, so that the rider can easily and quickly reach the destination with luggage.

Nowadays, shared vehicles play an essential role in the city, bringing users to work, school, and leisure sports. It has become the first choice for short-distance transportation. Electric bicycles can be used for long distances, while E-scooters can be used for short distances. To improve the user experience, a charging system is designed to integrate smart electric bicycles and micro-mobility. So that the bikes and the scooters can both be charged at the same time and location in the city.

Youhelmet

Youhelmet is a helmet for users of Youbike. With the folding design, it is easy to carry and storage.

Every Youhelmet has a waterproof container set on the rear wheel to prevent it from getting wet on rainy days.

To avoid being stolen, there is an anti-theft device in each container. When you successfully rent a Youbike with a card, the container would be unlocked. Every container has a sensor. You would return the Youbike successfully only if the Youhelmet be put into the container literally.

Youhelmet has a minimalist shape. Different from other bike helmets, it looks simpler and more lively.

As for color matching, Youhelmet has the same tangerine with Youbike. Make it more consistent in shape.