Several people have pointed me to this bamboo trike that has the general look of a 1970s basket weaving class gone awry.
Designed by Monash University student Alexander Vittouris, the Ajiro utilizes a production process that removes emissions instead of releasing them into the Earth’s atmosphere. That’s because the bamboo structure of this vehicle is grown straight out of the ground into a preformed mold. Vittouris envisions fields of bamboo gardens growing these human powered bicycles, which need only small modifications once mature to hit the streets.
I’m skeptical. For starters the thing steers with the back wheels using those levers that seem to pop up between the rider’s thighs, and pedals like a bigwheel. This eco-bigwheel seems designed for viral blog posts, not for riding. Sure it won a design contest, but I’m gonna remain a skeptic until we see some photos or a video of it actually being ridden and steered. (Or until he comes out with a smaller version that acknowledges its fundamental bigwheel-ness and calls it a children’s toy!)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The steel prototyping frame is on youtube showing that the steering works, and the front hub can be easily geared – the trial frame seems to use one with freewheel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSuNyM4FT38
I watched the video above … it’s certainly interesting. However, the point in the posting regarding the steering isn’t addressed by that video. All the prototypes had the steering outside of the legs while the bamboo model in the picture clearly has it awkwardly placed between the riders thighs. I too remain skeptical until I see it ridden with the configuration shown. Very interesting idea though…growing the bamboo in the mold. Definitely creative thinking.
I should probably clarify, the above photos are only computer visualisations of the proposal concept.
After completing the frame prototyping I redesigned a number of elements, including the positioning of the steering levers and storage. The idea for the ‘between the legs’ steering came from trikes such as ‘Huffy Green Machine’, which I tested early on – yep even big people can ride those – and I had no issues with the position of the controls, really quite controllable.
The modifications to the frame shape have made the vehicle quite stable, which was really surprising.
The updated concept proposal which is being followed in subsequent natural plant prototyping is available here: http://jamesdysonaward.org/Projects/Project.aspx?ID=1726&RegionId=2&Winindex=0
Cheers
Thanks for replying, Alexander.
This is not a bike, it is a trike. A bike has only two wheels. There is a big difference. Bicycles move swiftly through traffic. This tricycle will get stuck in traffic just like a car. It is also far too wide for bike paths, and too long to handle well. Plus, where are you going to park this thing? You can’t chain it up on a sidewalk, so it will require a metered parking space, which defeats the purpose. Though this product is novel, so was the pet rock, which has long disappeared, as I believe will happen to this product. But Please bring an example to the HB Bicycle show so that we can promote it to the public. Best of luck with your product.