THE MOSES TRAIL TOOL

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Two of my close riding mates and I created a business a few years ago with an aim to become a hub for mountain biking in Sydney. We wanted to launch a tool that could help the trail building community in Sydney. As the industrial designer, I was responsible for the design, production and management of the new product.

First I sketched a few simple concepts and we began to move towards the idea of having an asymmetrical design that allowed for a different tool on every side of the product. I also wanted the product to be narrower then other options available on the market so that it could be used to dig narrow drains. Costing sheets, work breakdown sheets and risk management were some of the tools I used to ensure we had a successful product. To save shipping cost and minimise risk on the project I decided that to would weld the tube and struts to the water-jet cut steel profile in-house. Once I had our final form, we sent the drawings to a manufacturer in China to make a prototype. I worked with them to choose the right type of steel, manufacturing method and finish.

Once we had the prototype, a rigorous product test was conducted to ensure we were positive that it would stand the test of time. We also began our social media campaign with a goal to raise enough capital to fund the manufacturing by pre-selling the items. It proved invaluable to have a videographer and professional mountain biker to generate hype for the pre-sale (watch the video we made using the QR-code below). I designed packaging for safely shipping around the country and storing the items during manufacturing.

We have now manufactured over 120 Moses Trail Tools and sold over $30,000 worth of stock. I plan to continue to release new products onto the market in the future. To see more head to our website mtbsydney.com