Jano.
What do these two bikes have in common? Two wheels? We can feel the love.
Designer Roland Kaufmann has gone and built a bicycle out of wood. He calls this cycle Jano, and says it’s a dual bike, equally at home trekking cross-country or taking its rider to and from work every day. This project has gone beyond some vaporware CAD drawing—he’s actually built a great-looking prototype, riding this bike around and impressing everyone in sight. Although Kaufmann never reveals the exact weight of his wooden bike, he extols the virtues of using wood which is pretty innovative. Why wood?
“Did you know that wood is up to 10 times stiffer than fiberglass and nearly 6 times stiffer than a kevlar/epoxy composite? Using wood and epoxy industry created some of the world’s best multi-hulled sailboats, sprint kayaks and rowing shells. lightweights. Quicker in acceleration. Easier in manoeuvring. More convenient to carry. Straightforward to maintain and visually divine. A swan among ducks. So why not also using this material for a bike?”
He uses wood veneers glued together into a unique configuration, which he says gives the resulting frame more stability while still reducing its thickness. Cyclists, will this work? Sure looks great, an example of superb craftsmanship.
via GP Designpartners, Treehugger, and gizmodo
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Past president of Architecture & Design Society, The Art Institute of Chicago. Designer, blogger, adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago.
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7 comments ↓
Great idea!
Great idea. As a Norwegian - we are a land of bikers you know - I would love to have one of those.
Btw: Thanks for the add at BlogCatalog
Great article on bikes…I’d love to own one. Bet they are going to be expensive…That’s the problem …If it’s pratical , healthy or well designed it’s expensive. Only the rich upper class can afford the future.
tiziano - grazie mille!
renny - the red bike looks like it could be in norway. no? ah, no wine in the baskets!
robbay - yes this one looks expensive - no cost-saving mass production here.
A wooden bike, looks nice but apart from weight it might get woodworm..lol
I think some designers designed a concept car with wood as well.
Other than the weight of it, I’ve been thinking…. what kind of wood do they use? What happen when it rains?
lady banana — the wood is sealed and the rider will take extra care on maintenance. this is really a TLC object.
tim — the wood is molded plywood. rain? maybe it floats.
also, since the original post, the designer’s site has been updated. Check out GP Designpartners link above.
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