The Simple Bike

In the second unit of Design & Engineering I learned about different types of bikes and how they are used differently by everyone. I also learned about the different ways they work and how they are designed. What I am most proud of is learning how bikes are properly used and how they should be used to be as safe as possible. I learned that bikes are also good for our health, that it’s good to ride your bike at least 20 minutes a day to prevent you from getting diseases and all these types of health issues. The purpose of this assignment is to redesign a bike for someone specifically chosen for my partner and I to create a better bike for her lifestyle. The most challenging thing was building the bike the way we sketched it and thought it should be.

The bike that my partner and I created for our given person was simple. We got a young 15 year old girl named Malia that lives in the Logan Square area. She rides her bike to school and back on the 606 trail. Her commute there is 5 miles and on her way home from school she stops at the grocery store. My partner and I decided to build her bike simple and not so heavy. Since she will be carrying groceries on her handles, we thought we could add a basket that is attachable and removable. The handles are removable and can be used as a lock so that way she doesn’t have to worry about digging in her bag for her lock and locking her bike. We created a comfortable heating seat that will support her back and also in the winter keep her warm.

What I learned from existing bikes is that they all have their ways of functioning whether it’s a more comfortable seat, better grippable handles, nice smooth wheels, low or high frames and how fast or slow the bike rides. The person whom I interviewed, Pedro Illas said “Bikes are better for the environment, and are easier to commute around the city.” This made me want to create a more simpler bike to keep Malia from struggling when she has lots of weight on her bike while riding and also when locking her bike while she shops. The reason to believe is that, the bike is perfectly made just for Malia and her commute to school and back. We added some small things to her bike which were the basket for the groceries, comfortable seat and supporter in the back, the chain guard and fender above the wheel, and the handle lock so she can lock the bike at school and won’t have to carry anything extra. We tried to keep the bike simple and with not so much stuff that will take up her time to ride her bike.

These are the added parts to Malia’s Bike:

-The seat is comfortable and also supports your back, you can also insert heat pads during the winter time while she rides to school. This will make her back less cold and will support her as well.

-The fender will block everything from coming up and ruining her clothes. The fender also has pockets that you can add a bottle or books for school. I added a chain guard also by the pedals just in case grease gets on her pants.

-The basket in the front of the bike which is removable, foldable and stretchy.

-The handle bars are removable also and can be used to lock your bike.


JR & VG (2015). "The Convenience Bike"

The kinetic energy is when Malia is riding her bike to school on the 606 trail. The potential energy is when Malia will be going down the ramp of the 606 trail she will have lots of force. The diameter of the bikes wheel is 28 inches, The circumference is 87.92 inches, how I found this was that I plugged in 3.14 which is pi and times it by the diameter which is 28 inches, my answer is 87.92 inches. The average speed to school is 5 miles = 26,400. On her way to school her bike wheel rotate 3,603.27. The scale that was used for the bike is in inches and the wheel is 2 inches diameter wheels. The driver gears 12, 16 teeth. Driver gears 24,36, 48 teeth. All ratios 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 3:2, 9:4.


JR & VG (2015). "Malia riding her bike"