People's Utility Bicycle Project

People's Utility Bicycle Project

2012

MA Thesis by Uula Jero, Supervisor Simo Puintila

Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Design

Table of Contents

Personal Statement

1. Hypothesis 1

2. Abstract 3

3. Aim 5

4. Objectives 5

5. Background 75.1 Philosophical Framework 8

5.1.1 Limits to Growth / Ecological Argument 8

5.1.2 Looking Beyond the Industrial Society 9

5.1.3 Facilitating a Transition Under the Current

Economic Reality / Social Entrepreneurship 10

5.1.4 Open Source Technology 11

5.1.5 Revival of Handicraft in a Deskilled Modern Society 14

5.1.6 A Frugal Society 15

5.1.7 Sustainable Technology 17

5.2 Practical Framework 17

5.2.1 Bicycle, the Most Efficient Means of Transportation 18

5.2.2 The Past of Utilitarian Cycling 18

5.2.3 The Rise of Utilitarian Cycling 20

6. Method 236.1 Development Basis 25

6.1.1 The Long John 25

6.1.2 The Industrial Tricycle 26

6.1.3 The Sociable Cargo Bicycle 28

6.1.4 Evaluating the Potential for Production with

Simple Tools and Low-energy Manufacturing Methods 30

6.2 Making & Development 31

6.2.1 The Box Bike 32

6.2.2 The Doubler 46

6.2.3 The Barrel Bike 58

6.3 Instructions 65

6.4 Utility Bicycles in Action 73

6.5 Outside Involvement 95

6.6 Work with Glasgow Bike Station 112

6.6.1 The Vision of Glasgow Bike Station and 112

the Future of the People's Utility Bicycle Project

6.6.2 The Collaboration 113

6.6.3 Fabrication 113

6.6.4 Workshops 114

7. Aesthetics and Visual Communication of Values 117

8. Results 119

9. Conclusion 123

10. Bibliography 124

11. References 125

12. Appendix 129People's Utility Bicycle Projet Visual Identity Material i

The Box Bike Instructions ii

The Barrel Bike Instructions iii

Cargo Bicycle Cost Sheet Produced for Bike Station iv

Workshop Plan Produced for Bike Station v

Personal Statement

I have been thoroughly exploring the benefit of human powered technology for the last

seven years. The world revealed itself to me in the beginning of my studies, when I stumbled

upon a discarded bicycle frame in skip of a recycling centre which was located near the

Helsinki School of Industrial Arts. Before then, despite enjoying riding it, the bicycle had

never revealed its true nature to me. Seeing this naked frame laying there, was when I

understood its functionally de-tangled simplicity.

The staff of the bicycle workshop at the recycling centre probably sensed my enthusiasm,

when I first walked in with this frame I had found. All I knew was, that I wanted to learn

everything that was required to make it run. Kindly they took me under their wing, letting

me rummage through the oily bins of spare parts every break I got from school, and teaching

me the essential knowledge and tricks of working with old bicycle technology firsthand. To

my surprise, everything was straightforward, and made more sense than I had previously

thought. All that was really needed, was the courage to explore the technology through my

own hands.

Though it cannot be said, that I know everything, I consider that I learned to master the old

bicycle in their guidance. Riding swiftly through the congested morning traffic to school

gave me a liberating sensation of freedom and self-sufficiency. Looking at the expressions of

the motorists confined in their stagnant vehicles, made me think that they were missing out,

committing a sin simply because they were misguided. I too, had once been a keen motorist,

succumbed to that ecstasy of speed, and fascinated by the promise of the esoteric

technology. I did not know how relative the illusion was.

I made my 16 kilometre commute to school nearly as fast as I would with a car or a bus in

the morning traffic, and felt considerably better and invigorated when I reached my

destination. The physical effort, and being exposed to the elements was not a struggle, but

rather a triumph in self discovery. I felt more connected to the world than ever before. I

learned to accept my limitations, and cope with the realities of nature. I no longer had to

worry myself over the upkeep of the car and expensive specialist repairs. All that I needed to

keep my bicycle running reliably would fit in my backpack. For as long as my legs would

carry, I would not be left standing puzzled in the side of the road.

Perplexing enough, I could no longer be satisfied accepting the dependent foundation of the

society. The longer I studied industrial design, the more intimately the modern technology

revealed itself to me. Perhaps with a naïve attitude, I had considered that technology had a

genuinely liberating function and human interest behind it, yet it became obvious that its

fundamental purpose was altered to serve the interests of market forces. Technology would

not reveal to us, what it means to be content, but offer temporary alleviation to the

existential crisis.

The habits of consumerism portrayed the failure of seeking identity through attachment to

material, that was being fed out through the mass production machinery. Simultaneously

the market was utilising this void in life, misguiding the consumers by offering tailored

projections of identity in the form of new commodities.

It was a miserable scenario, as the impact of the habits of the developed world became

apparent: the industrial society was rapidly consuming the foundation of its own prosperity

and moving on to exploit the human and natural resources outside its own borders, just to

feed this questionable source of hunger. I moved into a primitive shelter to discover the

relative nature of subjective need. The paramount questions in my mind were: how could we

regulate our consumption, and how much do we really need to be content?

As a result to this experiment, it occurred to me, that the right kind of technology could, in

fact teach us about ourselves. This technology, if it was sufficiently human in scale, and

connected us to the physical limitations of ourselves, and the natural environment, could

steer the society into a direction that was sustainable. Like the bicycle, there are such

technologies, that enforce introspection and give a more modest physical reference point to

consumption. This reference point is not, what a motorised machine can achieve, but where

we, as humans can stop and say, that a sufficient effort has been made.

My vision is to help rekindle the knowledge of technologies that can be managed with

modest human efforts. It is becoming more apparent, that we are failing to run away from

the natural limitations, therefore it is beneficial to learn to embrace them. I have substituted

the dogma of industrial development to learning to live with Nature, for it is Nature that

dictates what we can ultimately achieve, not the machine.

The future will not be motorised.

1. Hypothesis

If there is an imminent and severe oil crisis, then the bicycle can be used as a viable solution for

urban mobility.

‘When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race’

(H.G. Wells)

1

2. Abstract

The People's Utility Bicycle Project is practice based research, that explores the alternative

methods of developing and manufacturing human powered transportation technology in times of

energy poverty. These utility vehicles are developed as appropriate technology. They can be

manufactured energy-frugally; with simple tools and techniques using mainly the waste of the

society as a resource. The utility bicycles are aimed to serve as accessible tools of transition

towards the behavioural changes required for a sustainable culture.

The project employs an open-source approach to development, with the paramount aim of

sharing knowledge. This is to enable user freedom, and encourage outside collaboration in

pooling of skills and ideas to create beneficial utility bicycles to suit varying needs and

environments. In the practical part of the work, 3 typeforms of utility bicycles have been

developed, resulting in 9 vehicles. Outside collaboration has produced another 4 cargo bicycles.

The knowledge is spread on the internet, and through a social enterprise hub. Of considerable

importance in the work is the partnership with a Scottish social enterprise, the Bike Station. The

purpose of the collaboration is to establish a harbour in which sustainable practices can be

facilitated in the current economic reality. Together with the Bike Station, the aim is to create a

sheltering environment and provide local services, to promote cycling as a primary mode of

personal transportation.

This work is founded on a comprehensive philosophical framework, that provides a clear

definition of the prerequisites of a transition to a sustainable culture, based on current facts.

Emerging issues and challenges are addressed in the form of a practical example of the steps that

can taken towards developing more energy and resource efficient solutions, that take into account

both the needs of the society, and the environment.

3

3. Aim

The aim of this project is to develop human powered vehicles that are suitable for post-industrial

production methods and that, to a greater degree can replace the function of motorised vehicles

in local-scale transportation.

4. Objectives

To empower people to be self-sufficient in their transportation. The project promotes a way for

ordinary people to be in control of their everyday tools. In this case to build their own vehicles

using simple, non-specialist tools and practices.

To prioritise low energy manufacturing.

To demonstrate how the waste of this society can be used efficiently and viably by means of non-

destructive recycling.

To find a harbour in which the post-industrial practices can be facilitated in the current economic

reality.

5

5. Background

7

5.1

Philosophical framework

5.1.1 Limits to Growth / Ecological

Argument

“Oil provides 40% of all energy used by human

beings on Earth, and it powers nearly all

transportation in the industrial world. It's also

the most important raw material for plastics,

agricultural and industrial chemicals, lubricants,

and asphalt roads” (Greer, 2008, pp. 11)

Global oil supplies have been diminishing since

1970’s as observed by M. King Hubbert’s Peak

Theory. The world is now approaching a point

of increased oil scarcity, which poses a serious

challenge to the growing industrial society. The

spiralling price of oil will have an unavoidable

effect on the current global economy, hindering

further growth and increasing poverty.1

Figure 1. Decreasing oil discoveries

The viability of oil-hungry mass production is

dependent on this easily manageable, cheap

form of energy. As it replaces manual forms of

producing commodities to a great degree, the

impending oil scarcity risks the demand-supply

chain of the modern industrial society. For this

reason, it is now beneficial to reflect upon

other oil-frugal means of sustaining the needs

of the society. Keeping the cost down is vital

for mass production to remain viable. For

agriculture, oil impacts as much as 20-50

percent of total costs, for raw material

industries 20-30 percent, for manufacturing

industries 10-20 percent, and for service

industries 5-10 percent.2

'Limits to Growth' report published by Club of

Rome in 1972 was one of the first scientific

studies to question the foundation of our

political and economic systems. The conducted

research presented a conclusion that any

measures done to persistently maintain

industrial growth would lead to an inevitable

catastrophe.3

“One of the central themes of The Limits to

Growth was precisely that modern civilization

cannot turn on a dime. Changing from on energy

resource to another isn't simply a matter of

pouring something different into our gas tanks,

because much of today's energy infrastructure is

fuel-specific...It took 150 years and some of the

biggest investments in history to build the

industrial, economic and human infrastructure

that turns petroleum from black goo in the

ground to the key power source of modern

society. To replace all that infrastructure with a

new system designed to run on some other form

of energy would take roughly the same level of

investment, as well as a great deal of time.”

(Greer, 2008, pp. 13)

The Earth’s physical resources are by their

nature finite. At the moment there is no

sufficient means of providing renewable energy

and minerals to meet the ongoing demands of

the industry. Green technology is gaining

popularity as energy prices continue to

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increase. These solution are designed for lower

emissions, but they do not always offer a

solution to the problem of resource depletion

in the manufacturing end. Many technological

fixes, for example the current generation of

hybrid cars, do not suggest that real changes in

infrastructure and behaviour are really

necessary. It would be beneficial to reflect

upon how to lighten up the energy hungry

framework of the society, rather than seeking

to find a greener way to sustain its inefficiency.

“We are living as if we have an extra planet at

our disposal. We are using 50 per cent more

resources than the Earth can provide, and unless

we change course that number will grow very

fast – by 2030, even two planets will not be

enough.” (WWF, Living Planet Report 20124)

Figure 2. Earth's Carrying Capacity, source

steadystaterevolution.org

The growing population in developed countries

must become more efficient in using the

depleting resources. Assuming no new

technological solution can be conceived to to

solve this problem, the only available solution

is to live with less. In this case countries must

develop energy frugality within their own

borders and be considerate of imports.

Figure 3. Ecological footprint, source 8020vision.com

“European economy uses huge amounts of

natural resources to function. Demand for

materials is so intense that between 20 and 30 %

of the resources we use are now imported. At the

other end of the materials chain, the EU

economy generates more than five tons of waste

per person every year. With the boom in

international trade, EU consumption and

production damage ecosystems and human

health far beyond Europe’s borders.” (EEA,

Material Resources and Waste - 2012 Update5 )

5.1.2 Looking Beyond the Industrial

Society

The biggest obstacle to growth is the fact, that

the industrial society is currently feeding off it’s

own foundation. In the struggle to sustain

growth in economy, the physical limitations

that grant its sustainability are easily forgotten.

A profit-based economy will continue to extract

resources in such manner, until the last

profitable drop of oil and crum of valuable

mineral have been extracted from the ground

and turned to waste. Should it remain faithful

to the predictions of the Limits to Growth

report, it would be a recipe for catastrophe.

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As an alternative, a resource-based economy

offers an optimistic future projection for

development. The modern industrial society

can be seen as a transition towards such a

model, as it becomes more sophisticated in

handling its resources. Rather than incessantly

extracting new resources, a resource-based

economy develops by multiplying the benefit of

already existing resources, e.g. by reusing and

recycling to the greatest degree possible.

Current EU waste policy6 suggests a transition

towards the behavioural changes required for a

resource-based economy. The EU resource

roadmap is now proposing incentives for

resource efficient products, promoting

responsible consumerism and creating market

for industry that uses secondary materials.7

Such a behavioural transition would be ideal,

yet the roadmap has already been condemned

as “useless” and “vague”, without adequate

tightening of waste legislation to force

compliance with the new values.8

5.1.3 Facilitating a Transition Under the

Current Economic Reality / Social

Entrepreneurship

The world is going through an era of global

capitalism. A strong argument could be made

that its fault lines are starting to show9, yet no

instant remedy exists. In addition to pressure

on the environment, tremors are felt with

increasing unemployment and rising demands

for social justice, as demonstrated by the

unified force behind the wall street protests. It

is a prerequisite for equality in a capitalist

economy, to be able to provide jobs for the

unemployed10. Unemployment and poverty are

stepping stones to social exclusion.

Corporations are only responsible for all legal

measures of maximising profit to the

shareholders, therefore the paramount social

responsibility is left for the central government;

to aid those who have been left behind.

Figure 4. Misery Index combines rising living cost of

living and unemployment

Europe’s anti-poverty targets for 2020 are

proving to be ineffectively met, with

unemployment increasing by 2 million from

2010.11 It is alarming how many people

struggle now, to meet the quality of life that is

considered a norm in today’s society. 2010 EU

statistics show, that 40 million people were

considered severely materially deprived, and

nearly 116 million at risk of poverty or social

exclusion.12 Oil dependency of the modern

infrastructure is due to push the cost of living

and poverty even higher, if the resource

inefficiency continues dictate the sole means of

the society.

Social enterprises have started to create

services by swiftly responding to arising needs

of the society and environment locally. Social

enterprises have a good stance in responding to

social needs faster than state-run services.

Where state-run services concentrate in serving

a mass society, social enterprises can tackle

problems locally and treat its challenges as a

unique case. They can concentrate at the grass

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roots level, creating frameworks to empower

and inspire people locally to serve themselves.

Figure 5. Growing number of community interest

companies in the UK, source CIC Regulator

Essentially social enterprises are self-sufficient

charities that pursue their environmental and

social goals using business methods. What

makes a social enterprise different from a

traditional capitalist company, is that it gains

profit by developing existing resources and

uses them to maximise its positive impact,

whereas a capitalist company consumes

resources to maximise its profit that benefits

shareholders. Social enterprises aim to create

independence, which essentially provides

people with the knowledge and skills to

develop to tackle their own problems locally,

and as an ultimate outcome removes the need

for the social enterprise altogether.

Social enterprises hold a promise of allocating

unemployed in more sustainable work, that

seems not to be greatly affected by the current

recession13. For example, the abundance of

material waste makes it possible create work

that feeds from the very inefficiency of the

modern society. Employment has successfully

been created in recycling and repairing14,

finding ways to use waste that cannot be used

as an efficient resource for the refined needs of

the industry. Reused and repaired products can

then be sold as an affordable service locally.

The manual labour intensity required15 is

beneficial for job creation16. Reusing and

recycling also promotes and rekindles useful

manual skills that are beneficial for frugality in

both hard economic times, and a more

resource-efficient culture.

The resource base of discarded technology

develops as quality technology is kept in

circulation. It offers a good value alternative to

brand new cheap production models that are

unrepairable and have a very short lifespan.

The sophistication of consumer behaviour can

be developed as a resource by promoting the

idea of maintaining higher quality and positive

impact of reusing items. Social enterprise hubs

can provide sheltering environments for

communities to safely embrace and develop the

behavioural changes required by the transition.

Growing quality of the resource base and

higher sophistication of consumer behaviour

develop in return the social enterprise itself. As

an optimistic future projection, social

enterprises can be seen as building blocks that

help form the foundation of more sustainable

local economies.

5.1.4 Open Source Technology

"That ideas should freely spread from one to

another over the globe, for the moral and mutual

instruction of man, and improvement of his

condition, seems to have been peculiarly and

benevolently designed by nature, when she made

them, like fire, expansible over all space, without

lessening their density in any point, and like the

air in which we breathe, move, and have our

physical being, incapable of confinement or

exclusive appropriation. Inventions then cannot,

11

in nature, be a subject of property. Society may

give an exclusive right to the profits arising from

them, as an encouragement to men to pursue

ideas which may produce utility, but this may or

may not be done, according to the will and

convenience of the society, without claim or

complaint from anybody...." (Thomas Jefferson,

1813)

“The conventional design process of industrial

technology tends to be autocratic, needing

professional designers and generating specialized

products which are aimed at short-term

profitability in a mass market. The structural

preferences of post-industrial technology,

however, are for democratic, non hierarchical,

participatory processes, open to everyone, and

taking into consideration the long-term needs of

the environment and society.” (Cross, pp.5)

Competition and safeguarding know-how are

ingrained in capitalism. Patents were originally

conceived as stimuli for useful innovations, but

the way they are now utilised, in connection

with short-lived consumer products, can hinder

and distort technological development17. Now

every design solution must consider the risk of

patent infringement. Corporations are reluctant

share significant information that might grant

users and developers a greater freedom of

using and modifying the technology.

Understandably this tendency is also apparent

in the concern that driving the development of

technology is costly, and it is arguable that

such work deserves an appropriate reward.

Creating aftermarket dependency is also

profitable in the long-run. A rational argument

is, that the inability of sustaining profitable

compensation would eliminate the

development of technology altogether, as the

economic reality would not be facilitated. For

some reason, though, the success of open

source development rises as an example

against this traditional train of thought.

It can be observed through human history, that

capital is not the only aspect fuelling

technological development. It is an inherent

part of human nature to cope with the

wretched nature of existence by developing

technology to ease the toil of living. The

tendency to develop technology and improve

life, considering future prospects, is what has

crafted culture since the very first tools and

techniques were conceived. It is also

fundamental aspect that separates humans

from other species that simply submit closely to

the realities of their natural physical limitations

and live in the simplicity of the moment. The

current technological trends are most certainly

just another short step towards change.

“One of the things that’s changing our world and

disrupting our industry... is the falling cost for

like-minded people to locate each other, share

information, pool what they know, collaborate,

and publish the results back to the world. This is

what makes open-source culture possible.” (A

Talk by Jay Rosen, TEDxNYED, 30.6.2010)

With the increasing ease of knowledge sharing

via the internet, a new notion has emerged,

that the creation of beneficial technology for

everyone can be guided by an open,

collaborative effort. When resources can be

pooled from a wide range of participants, all

working for common goals, claims for

intellectual property are out of place. The

success of open source can be explained by the

possibility that participants are eager to give

their time to reach a better result, because the

act of giving, and the following merit can grant

a sense of satisfaction. Such gift, or solidarity

economy is not based on maximising personal

12

gain, but to accumulate non-monetary wealth

inside a community.

Open source technology encourages its users to

explore it more intimately. It holds an inspiring

promise of independence, as many solutions

are technically possible to be maintained and

customised to the needs of the user. Users of

the Linux operating system can receive

abundant information and assistance from

more experienced people on how to solve

specific problems and how to find the right

type of software to customise the operating

system to their needs. The amount of

information available enables the users, if they

are willing to learn, to master the tool they are

using, and in return contribute to the

community in developing the technology. In

fact, anyone at any skill level can give a

valuable insight to make it more accessible and

functional.

There is evidence of a rising maker, and open

design movement. For example, Group N55 in

Denmark develops instructions for users

fabricate things, like greenhouses (Figure 7.)

and utility bicycles (Figure 6.)18. Open

Structures Project19 develops modular universal

pieces, like in the MECCANO20 kits, and

encourages users to contribute to the

development of new parts, and create open

design solutions using them. Websites, like the

Forums of Make Magazine21 and Instructables22

are online platforms, where makers and

developers can pool knowledge and develop

instructions to provide for the growing open

source and do-it-yourself culture.

Figure 6. XYZ spaceframe vehicles, source N55.dk

Figure 7. Spaceplates Greenhouse, source N55.dk

The rising notion that open source and

operating in a solidarity economy promotes,

encourages to think outside the bubble of an

egocentric notion of maximising personal gain.

Such a shift of values suggests the idea that

personal benefit, or well-being might be

inseparable from the society’s. A healthy

society fosters healthy individuals, and further,

a collective consciousness is growing, that a

healthy ecosystem is fundamentally the source

of all human prosperity.

A sustainable future projection could certainly

be seen as a wider implementation of the

values of open source across the field of

technology, backed up by a resource-based

13

economy. Promoting independence by

distributing knowledge and skills in using,

maintaining and developing sustainable

technology for everyone is where the ethos of

open source and social entrepreneurship come

so close, that they can almost touch hands.

“[O]penness is more than a commercial and

cultural issue, it's a matter of survival. Open

design is one of the preconditions for the

continuous, collaborative, social modes of

enquiry and action that are needed.”(Van Abel et

al. pp. 44)

5.1.5 Revival of Handicraft in a

Deskilled Modern Society

“Every activity requires a certain amount of skill,

the activity of cleaning and cooking no less than

the writing of a book or the building of a house.

[...] It could acquire certain importance through

the modern division of labor, where tasks

formerly assigned to the young and

inexperienced were frozen into lifelong

occupations. But this consequence of the division

of labor, where one activity is divided into so

many parts that each specialized performer needs

but a minimum of skill, tends to abolish skilled

labor altogether, as Marx rightly predicted.”

(Arendt, pp. 90)

Industrial mass production does not benefit

from harbouring generalist workforce. The very

efficiency comes from fragmenting skills and

training specialists to specific small tasks. For

the cost-efficiency of production, these small

pieces play a crucial part, but for the individual

workers it often has very little to offer in terms

of practical skills for providing for oneself

outside the working world. Profitability

encourages specialisation, and equally

specialisation is dependent on profit.

“Man is a generalist -it is his extensions (tools

and environments) that are designed that help

him to achieve specialisalization. But by

misdesigning such tools or environments we

often achieve a closed feedback loop, the tools

and environments in turn affect men and groups

in a way that turns them into permanent

specialists themselves.” (Papanek, pp. 326)

Some hundred years ago, people were still

locally producing most of what they consumed.

Having a wide range of general skills was the

key to adaptability and supply for needs even

in hard times. Now the economy works by

providing money to purchase such commodities

from the global market of mass produced

goods. Assuming a substantial rise of

production costs in the oil-based economy

would put pressure on corporations, they

would behave rationally by cutting jobs as

necessary to sustain, leading to increasing

unemployment, poverty and a growing

population with insufficient skills and means

for providing for themselves.

“The disappearance of tools from our common

education is the first step toward a wider

ignorance of the world of artefacts we inhabit.”

(Crawford, pp.1)

Reduction of crafts studies has become a

popular progression in the compulsory

education system. In the developed world,

emphasis is shifting on exploring the built

world through technology, rather than hands23.

It has become questionable to prepare the

youth for manual work, as the promise of

future appears to lie in high technology and

brain power rather than manual dexterity. The

14

paramount responsibility of institutions seems

now to lie in guiding a smooth transition to a

future of high-paying specialised jobs. It is a

rational aim, as the modern day is primarily

technology driven, and the paramount aim of

corporations now is to boost global

competitiveness and managing the manual

work of mainly cheap labour overseas.

“And, in fact an engineering culture has

developed in recent years in which the object is to

“hide the works”, rendering many of the devices

we depend on every day unintelligible to direct

inspection.” (Crawford, pp.1)

Technology that promotes user independence

and self-sufficiency is entirely opposite of what

is offered to the modern consumer. Interfaces

no longer encourage the user to engage with

the internal workings of machines. The

function is not externalised, but rather hidden

behind plastic covers and lcd screens, that give

an impression of ‘user friendliness’, but

generally do not grant comprehensive

information about maintenance. Undoubtedly

today’s technology has a helpful function, but

its status is dominant. Users are dependent on

a network of services, and abandoned if they

don’t upgrade, when the tools they use become

obsolete.

“There seems to be an ideology of freedom at the

heart of consumerist material culture; a promise

to disburden us of mental and bodily

involvement with our own stuff so we can pursue

ends we have freely chosen. Yet this disburdening

gives us fewer occasions for the experience of

direct responsibility. I believe the appeal of

freedonism, as a marketing hook, is due to the

fact that it nonetheless captures something true.

It points to a paradox in our experience of

agency: to be a master of your own stuff entails

also being mastered by it.” ( Crawford pp. 56)

5.1.6 A Frugal Society

“In hard economic times, we want to be frugal.

Frugality requires some measure of self-reliance –

the ability to take care of your own stuff. But the

new interest in self-reliance seems to have arisen

before the specter of hard times. Frugality may

be only a thin economic rationalization for a

movement that really answers to a deeper need:

We want to feel that our world is intelligible, so

we can be responsible for it. This seems to

require that the provenance of our things be

brought closer to home. Many people are trying

to recover a field of vision that is basically

human in scale, and extricate themselves from

dependence on the obscure forces of a global

economy.” (Crawford, pp. 8)

A society that can provide for its needs locally

is resilient in hard economic times. Developing

self-sufficiency on local scale is an alternative

to trying to stimulate the struggling economy

by consuming more and searching for profit

from the global market. Spending more money

is unlikely to relieve the fundamental problem

of deficit: of capital and natural resources.

Outsourcing cheaper skilled labour from

overseas will not solve the problem of growing

unemployment and an unskilled society. Being

resource frugal is the right answer to the

problems of overconsumption, and it can be

achieved by starting to change the tools and

techniques of the modern society, to such that

promote the consciousness of the current

physical limitations.

“Speed is the form of ecstasy the technical

revolution has bestowed on man. As opposed to a

15

motorcyclist, the runner is always present in his

body, forever required to think about his blisters,

his exhaustion; when he runs his age, more

conscious than ever of himself and of his time of

life. This all changes when man delegates the

faculty of speed to a machine: from there, his

own body is outside the process, and he gives

over to a speed that is non-corporeal, non-

material, pure speed, speed itself, ecstasy speed.”

(Milan Kundera, Slowness, 1995)

A direct physical connection to the world of

material is essentially natural. There is a long

heritage of naturally sustainable and more

energy efficient tools and techniques that were

developed before the society became fixed on

the benefits of motorisation. A reference point

in physical anabolic effort is a clear reference

to weigh consumption. It was due to

motorisation, that sustaining such inefficiency

became possible. Manual effort is slow and

laborious compared to the speed of industrial

mass production, but the intrinsic value of its

fruit is easier to grasp than anything that is

machine made. It is possible to comprehend

such value, as it can be directly referred to

human effort and skill.

“Labour was the first price, the original

purchase-money that was paid for all things. It

was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that

all the wealth of the world was originally

purchased; and its value, to those who possess it,

and who want to exchange it for some new

productions, is precisely equal to the quantity of

labour which it can enable them to purchase or

command.” (Adam Smith, The Wealth of

Nations, 1776, Book I, Chapter V, pp.38)

Consider water, that runs directly from a tap,

and electricity that is simply switched on.

Although it is convenient, using such

commodities does not promote the

consciousness of the resources required to

produce them. It is more difficult to be frugal,

and easier to overindulge, like in the speed of a

motorised vehicle. Humans can regulate their

efforts when they become exhausted, but

machines are never-tiring, always excited

entities that will continue to produce without

the sensitivity to the same physical limitations.

Delegating the faculty of judgement to what

motorised technology can achieve, therefore,

cannot answer the question of what is enough,

or how much does it take to make the society

content. Machines will simply run until there is

nothing left in their tanks.

“We do most certainly need happiness in our

daily work, content in our daily rest; and all this

cannot be if we hand over the whole

responsibility of the details of our daily life to

machines and their drivers. We are right to long

for intelligent handicraft to come back to the

world which it once made tolerable amidst war

and turmoil and uncertainty of life, and which it

should, one would think, make happy now we

have grown so peaceful, so considerate of each

other's temporal welfare.” (Morris, 1988)

Distribution of skills and open forms of

developing technology promote the solidarity

that will carry a society through difficult times.

In the race for progress, a sense of purpose has

become obscure. It is hard to understand how

the value of work is derived in the global

economy. Why is the society busy struggling to

generate economic profit for personal gain,

rather than concentrating in supplying for

collaboration and solidarity?

“Open design is more than just a new way to

create products. As a process, and as a culture,

open design also changes relationships among

16

the people who make, use and look after things.

Unlike proprietary or branded products, open

solutions tend to be easy to maintain and repair

locally. They are the opposite of the short-lived,

use-and-discard, two-wash-two-wear model of

mainstream consumer products.” (Van Abel et

al., pp. 50)

5.1.7 Sustainable Technology

“...durability, independence, replicability, and

transparency --make good criteria for any

technology meant to outlast the industrial age.”

(Greer, pp. 172)

Long-lasting technology can be maintained by

the user with generalist knowledge.

Consumables and crucial components to

function should be of widely used standards, so

that acquiring them is easy, even after the

product becomes obsolete. Making the way the

product functions and is constructed obvious

makes it possible to replicate. Externalising

such information works as an encouraging

message to builders, developers and repairmen.

It is difficult to repair and reuse new

technology. The machines are often very

complex and offer no obvious information

about their maintenance. There is a lack of

standards across different brands and product

generations, and because of their relatively

short life-cycles, replacement parts for obsolete

models are expensive and hard to come by. It is

now more expensive to repair products, than to

buy new. Due to the withering repair culture,

user maintenance and repairability are no

longer important design features.

Reusing and upcycling older technology is

easier. It has been built with the simple repair

and maintenance tasks in mind. Such was the

culture, and there were times when the society

was living more frugally. In the absence of

cheap products, it made sense to mend things,

and sustain commodities as long as possible.

Old technology is less complex, and therefore

more open to users without specialist

knowledge. Because of the material quality,

reliability, and simplicity, there are many old

products that can be upcycled today, to offer a

viable, or even better alternative to modern

mass produced commodities.

“...the revitalization of old technologies can be

done successfully by individuals working on their

own. It's precisely those technologies that can be

built, maintained, and used by individuals that

formed the mainstay of the economy in the days

before cheap, abundant energy made a global

economy seem to make sense. These same

technologies -if they're recovered can make use of

the abundant salvage of industrial civilization,

help cushion the descent into deindustrial future,

and lay foundations for the sustainable cultures

that will rise out of the ruins of our age.”

(Greer, pp. 169)

5.2 Practical framework

Energy crisis is, in effect, a transportation crisis.

Trade networks shrink if sustaining long-

distance logistics becomes unprofitable. In the

absence of functional global trade, economy

will have to concentrate locally. The

predicament of transportation moves towards

local mobility; access to local services and

goods. The growing majority of the world’s

population is already concentrating in cities,

where the most of trade and opportunities

reside24.

17

5.2.1 Bicycle, the Most Efficient Means

of Transportation

Utilitarian use of the bicycle and its

applications holds great potential aid for an

energy poor future. The benefits of bicycles in

such societies can be seen in developing

countries. They empower people to access what

is scarce. Even the necessities of food and

water, or employment, social opportunities and

education are considerably easier to reach on a

bicycle over foot. What differs the western

society in its impending energy poverty, is the

availability of this simple technology. As people

in developing countries currently struggle to

gain access to such luxuries, heaps of bicycles

lie unused and unappreciated elsewhere25. In

most of Europe, cycling as a social construction

has fallen under the category of leisure, and

bicycle is seen as a toy of sorts, rather than

fulfilling the original purpose it was invented

for. What can easily be rekindled is the use of

bicycles once again as a utilitarian tool. Along

with continent curtailing railways, it still ought

to be the long cheered invention that liberated

man and woman equally, in the turn of the

19th century.

As mentioned, the technology of pedal

powered propulsion is readily available. Many

types of bicycles have been manufactured, yet

the vast majority of them carry an identical

principle; similar frame, set of components and

riding posture. The type form of a bicycle,

therefore is fairly standardised, and most

components are easily interchangeable. Even

between models from different decades, so

upcycling is straightforward. The only variation

that is not yet so common is the extended

utilitarian application of it. There is scope for

adding to this existing technology, solutions

that require not much more further production,

nor high energy usage. Something that

complies with the common type form of the

bicycle and is capable of adding new

dimensions to it, so that it aims to meet the

needs of people who are looking for a

sustainable option to transfer to, from the

convenience of motorised transportation.

5.2.2 The Past of Utilitarian Cycling

The benefit of utility bicycles was

acknowledged in the dawn of the safety

bicycle, in fact, the industrial tricycle was

developed in England as early as the 1870’s

(the safety bicycle became popular in the

1880’s). It was the choice of tradesmen;

providing mobility to grocers, druggists, bakers

and various other professions.26 These tricycles,

along with some other later typeforms of utility

bicycles were copied, modified and produced

by various factories in different corners of the

world. Utilitarian bicycles were a hit, until the

disruptive technology of internal combustion

engines in personal transportation became

available to the common man. The advantage

was simply too big, fuel was cheap and made it

effortless to carry considerably larger loads

over longer distances. The popularity of

delivery bicycles was struck a fatal blow along

with the utility bicycle manufacturers, who

moved onto other types of production. The

bicycles were left rotting without adequate

service plans and support. The boom of

motorisation lead quickly to excess, and it

became a symbol of convenience in the western

world, to an extent where even the lightest

duty applications boasted with this advantage.

Simultaneously the acknowledgement of the

potential of human powered applications

started withering away.

18

Popularity of adult cycling had a minor

comeback in the periods of post-war energy

poverty, as well as during the 1970’s oil crisis,

but with the rapid recovery and manipulation

of oil prices, the popularity was never

sustained. (See figures 8, 9 and 10) Sharing

the faith with many other alternative

sustainable technologies, the demand crashed

again and the solutions were left to linger in a

niche market to this day. Thanks to these short

spells of crisis, and the visionaries who

continued working with the promise of

utilitarian cycling, the knowledge and

development have been sustained in almost a

hibernating state. Despite the current rising

fuel prices, the scarcity of the service and

around utility bicycles has made it difficult to

adapt as an alternative form of transportation.

In places where it is more established, though,

the benefit of cycle-powered haulage can be

observed to offer a considerable alternative,

even in supporting the logistics of mass-

produced goods.27 Research indicates, that a

quarter of all deliveries in urban areas could be

replaced by cargo bicycles.28

The post 1950’s depreciation in bicycle

transportation can be observed more recently

in China, where the bicycle has persisted to be

a popular mode of transportation.29 With the

recent economic development, the option of

personal motorised transportation is becoming

available to a wider audience. In correlation

the use of human power and manual labour is

waning with increasing automation across the

field of technology.30 With already high

population densities in the growing urban

areas of the world, the increase in the use of

traditionally inefficient motorised vehicles is

likely to add to the already existing issues of

increasing pollution, traffic congestion, and

rising health problems due to the lack of

physical exercise.

Figure 8. Use of motorised vehicles in negative

correlation to oil price

Figure 9. Cyclist injury statistics show the decrease in

the popularity of cycling in terms of kilometres

travelled per year, source British Medical Journal

Figure 10. Bicycle boom during the 1970's oil crisis

19

5.2.3 The Rise of Utilitarian Cycling

The average speed of travelling through

London at peak hour is only 20 km/h.31 This is

a leisurely pace on a bicycle, and it is

unsurprising, that in the increasingly congested

cities the bicycle is once again proving to be a

fast and viable alternative. With the recent

incentives to boost cycling, especially to avoid

congestion during the olympics, London is now

seeing a rising trend in commuting by bicycle.

(Figure 11.) The rising cost of car ownership is

putting many in a squeeze in the hard

economic times32. It is now harder to justify

sustaining inefficient use of costly resources,

and sensible to convert to cycling for economic

reasons.33 Bicycle is still the most efficient

means of transportation known to man.34

Figure 11. Increase of cycling in London, source, UK

department of transportation

Urban mobility does not only mean personal

transportation. Motorists find with the

convenience of cars comes the ability to

transport goods and passengers at need. Being

able to haul cargo is a prerequisite for flexible

self-sufficient transportation. There is the

requirement to go about the daily living, for

example shopping, moving about young

children, transporting material to work, and

equipment to hobbies. Many trades are also

reliant on transporting goods, tools and

equipment, and some entrepreneurs are once

again becoming aware of the possibilities of

trade that can take place on a bicycle. Not

having to pay for fuel, maintenance and

insurance costs of a motorised vehicle cuts the

overheads and makes business more

profitable.35

It is not uncommon to see cargo bicycles of

many different types on the streets in the

capital cities of Netherlands and Denmark. The

is a success that owes thanks to the

government’s efforts to encourage cycling and

take it seriously as a viable form of

transportation despite the growing trend in

motorised mobility since the 1950’s. The key to

the success is, that cycling has been prioritised

over cars in policy and city planning, enforcing

the unattractiveness of using a car in urban

transportation.36 Tightened regulations also

favour bicycles over cars in traffic, enforcing

the motorists to adopt a higher responsibility

relative to the greater risk they pose. In order

for cycling to be recognised and taken seriously

amidst the motorised traffic, it needs to reach a

critical mass. The development of safer cycling

increases, as motorists get used to the presence

of bicycles, and space is allocated for bicycle

lanes. Figure 12. statistics from the Netherlands

show an 80% decline in cycling fatalities as

bicycle use increased between from the mid

1970’s to 2005.

20

Figure 12. Cycling vs. fatalities in the Netherlands

With rising oil prices and growing

environmental awareness undoubtedly playing

a part, utilitarian cycling is once again

resurfacing in the less cycling sophisticated

cities of the Western world. There is a strong

undercurrent in society, especially with young

families, who are taking the possibilities of

human powered haulage seriously. More

means of utilitarian cycling are appearing on

the streets, and the media is increasingly

noting the presence of this rising movement.37

The awareness of the benefits is creating

demand around the utility bicycle business. For

a converting motorist acquiring a cargo bicycle

is not a relatively large investment, averaging

around two and a half thousand Euros. For a

poor household without a car, the cost is a

large obstacle on the way of transition.

With ever increasing poverty, the accessibility

to the empowering benefits of cargo bicycles is

not yet developed. Cargo bicycles are mostly

produced in places where the demand and

sophistication of cycling culture are already

high, but where there is room for

improvement, it is harder to acquire one. In

many cases it requires very costly shipping

from overseas, that brings up the price of the

vehicle. The predicament is, that utilitarian

cycling is gaining popularity from bottom-up,

and before the means visibly appear on the

streets, it will not be taken seriously. Therefore,

being able to provide an affordable cargo

bicycle service locally is an important

advantage to making it accessible, and hence

faster increase its presence.

Most cargo bicycles today are industrially

produced from new resources, and their

technical sophistication level is high. Because

of the high amounts of embodied energy, such

practice cannot be considered as sustainable as

low energy manufacturing and reusing

technology. Commercial cargo bicycle solutions

have been produced in large quantities before

motorisation became popular, and it is partially

due to the specialist nature of the technology,

that they have failed to sustain to this day. To

ensure a long-lasting presence of this

technology, the main concerns of sustainability

and accessibility have to be taken into account.

Technical solutions ought to be simple and

reliable. Sometimes appropriate technology is

better than high sophistication. Transparent,

simple solutions can be adapted to local needs,

and the components and materials can be

tailored so, that they efficiently utilise local

resources.

21

6. Method

This project is a practical research to the

potential of upcycling the resource of old

bicycle technology and common material waste

to develop more sustainable alternatives for the

needs of urban mobility. The technology is

developed as open source to maximise user

freedom and promote independence. The

solutions are implemented as services through

social entrepreneurship to secure the necessary

economic sustainability and generate

employment. The aim to promote long-lasting

self-sufficiency and natural development of

sustainable technology in urban human-

powered mobility.

The project will generate ideas to utilise waste

to build vehicles. Ideas will be prototyped and

viable solutions will be developed further. The

prototyping process will be documented in

images and communicated openly.

The functional solutions will be further

documented in the form of easily distributable

instructions that enable people to build their

own vehicles and engage in the development

process by exchanging information and sharing

their own solutions and ideas. The results of

material use, technique and structural solutions

will be recorded and pooled in social media

and online databases, where they are easily

accessible.

Local workshops for distributing knowledge of

building vehicles will be developed in

collaboration with a social enterprise. The

financial viability of workshops will be

evaluated. Employment opportunities of locally

producing and supplying vehicles will be

developed with a social enterprise.

23

24

6.1 Development Basis

Three typeforms of cargo bicycles were

selected for the evaluation of their suitability

for post-industrial production methods: the

box bike, Long John and a sociable cargo

tandem. To narrow down the scope of the

project, the utility bicycles were chosen based

on the following criteria. They should be of a

low-loading type, meaning that even large

cargo becomes easier to handle because of the

low centre of gravity. Having a reasonable

alternative for a car must facilitate the

transport of a passenger, as well as an amount

of cargo that would fit in the trunk of a

compact car. The ability to carry a child and

groceries simultaneously, or a passenger with

a bag was chosen to be the minimum criteria

for capacity.

6.1.1 The Long John

The original Long John cargo bicycle has been

produced since the 1940's. It has a capacity of

carrying a 100kg of cargo in the front and

another 50kg on the back rack. It Is less

carrying capacity than the box bike, but comes

also in a more compact package. Being a two-

wheeled cargo bike, it is more agile and fits

through tighter spaces. The long john also

passes through a door, and can therefore be

stored indoors, when needed. Where the box

bike steering improves with load, the long

john becomes more cumbersome to steer,

especially in slow speeds. The lack of stability

whilst loading and unloading is compensated

by a robust double stand that folds out for

parking.

The Long John is like a stretched-out dutch

'omafiets' or a 'granny bike' with a structurally

supporting basket frame in the middle.

Modern adaptations exist, using essentially a

similar principle. The most significant, and

complex technical solution in the Long John is

the steering linkage, as the steering from the

rear must be linked to the front fork with a

track rod.

To ride a Long John is relatively similar to a

traditional upright bicycle. Adapting to its

steering is a fast process, and one must only

account for a longer wheelbase in balancing

and turning. Unlike in the industrial tricycle, a

Long John’s manoeuvrability improves as the

rider picks up speed.

Figure 13. Long John steering system

25

Figure 14. Long John can handle 100kg of cargo load, source longjohn.org

Figure 15. Long John frame, source Monark manufacturer

26

6.1.2 The Industrial Tricycle

The function of the front loading industrial

tricycle has remained virtually unchanged

since it was developed. The construction

consists of a single wheel bicycle frame that

pivots under a milk cart style box. The

turning mechanism is very simple: turning the

front box steers the bicycle. The whole load

carried sits in the front box, that is supported

on two wheels. It is a very stable and reliable

construction, which makes loading and

unloading easier and more secure, as the

three wheels provide the stability. Image

shows a modern adaptation produced by

Christiania Bikes in Denmark. The Christiania

bicycle was the model that modernised the

old typeform of the industrial tricycle and

revived the use of cargo bicycles in Denmark.

The first model, that became a success, was

developed in 1984. Older models of the

Christiania bicycle usea simpler front cart,

that supports both sides of the wheel axle and

is compliant with standard 24” bicycle front

wheels. The modern models have a cart that

supports the wheel on one side only, requiring

substantially stronger axles and hence special

wheel hubs. (Compare figures 16 and 17)

The bicycle frame used to propel the front cart

is suspended below it by using essentially a

normalbicycle headset type bearing solution

(marked blue). The specially fabricated

bearing unit that contains the steerer tube

bolts onto the cart frame. The stabilising struts

that connect the lower end of the head tube to

the cart frame stiffen and reinforce the

connection, reducing the frameflex sideways

and removing stress off the steerer tube. When

this connection is done properly, it is mostly

subjected to the stress forces produced by the

rider, and affected less by the front load that

rests supported on top of the front axle. (See

figure 18)

There are three features that affect the

steering quality in this solution. One a slightly

inclined steerer angle, which is to the opposite

direction from a normal bicycle, to assist

turning by tilting the rear bicycle frame

Figure 16. Classic Christiania bike, image source flickr, david_john

27

towards the inside of a turn. The second one is

achieved by placing the pivot point of the cart

in front of the front axle, to produce a self-

centering caster effect for directional stability.

Steering stability is also influenced by

implementing a steering dampener, which

considerably assists in eliminating

uncontrolled steering wobble when reaching

higher speeds and hitting bumps on one

side.The box bike has a considerable learning

curve, as tricycle steering and balancing differs

considerably from two-wheeled bicycles. Like

most tricycles, this type of bicycle is prone to

tipping when ridden with high speed into a

turn, therefore riding fast requires experience

and the ability of the rider to physically lean

towards the inside of the turn to balance

against the centrifugal force. It helps to have

the frame compensate for this when turning.

Adding weight by transporting cargo improves

its controllability significantly.

Figure 17. Modern Christiania bike frame, image source manufacturer

Figure 18. Steering construction detail

28

6.1.3 The Sociable Cargo Bicycle

The sociable cargo bicycle is the least common

of the bunch. The unpopularity is possibly due

to the physical size, that requires a lot more

space in the traffic. Practicality is sacrificed for

more capacity. A lot of the solutions seem to

exist outside industrial production, either as

experiments, or as special needs applications.

(See figure 19) It offers the stability of four

wheels and the power of two cyclists, and has

great potential to be used for heavier duty

utilitarian transport, as well as transporting

more peoplesimultaneously. Its social nature

offers an interesting aspect, as the riders can

socialise better whilst pedalling, just like in a

car. As the pictures show, it can be a

straightforward modification: connecting two

similar bicycles together. Adding space in the

rear can facilitate passengers and cargo, and

still propelling with ease because of a mutual

effort.

Assuming two identical bicycles are used for

such construction, the significant technical

solutions are the stabilising struts that support

and hold the bicycles at an equal distance in

the front and the back. The constructions does

not necessarily have to be fully rigid, as a little

flex between the frames can work to the

benefit of the vehicle, removing stress forces

created by uneven road surface. Thesteering is

linked with a track rod. The construction is

also assumed to take into account Ackerman

steering compensation. (See figure 20) This

makes the wheel in the inside of a turn track a

smaller radius than the outside. Without the

compensation, wheel drag develops when

turning, slowing the speed and unnaturally

wearing down the tyres. In the box bike this

compensation is not a concern, as turning the

cart automatically sets the wheels to trace

correct circles.

In similar fashion as with a sidecar, the

sociable cargo bicycle can be ridden alone or

together. There is no considerable balancing

difference, as the bicycle rests stable on all

four wheels, exceptfor when a single driver is

turning with the vacant bicycle in the inside

curve. Centrifugal force is prone to lift the

lighter side of the bicycle off the road surface.

This is compensated by the rider leaning

towards the inside curve, as one would when

riding with a sidecar.

Figure 19. A sociable snowplough bicycle, image coursesy of Frode Nielsen

29

Figure 21. A modular sociable recumbent kit from Blackbird Bikes, source manufacturer

Figure 20. The principle of Ackerman steering compensation

30

6.1.4 Evaluating the Potential forProduction with Simple Tools and Low-energy Manufacturing Methods

In terms of its suitability for post industrial

production, the frame of the box bicycle offers

possibilities, as well as obstacles. The rear of

the frame, including the drivetrain is identical

to that of a normal bicycle, and is therefore

easily obtainable technology. The function of

the extended front of the frame is simply to

suspend the bicycle and driver from the

bottom of the cart. In the case of the industrial

tricycle, the frame is extended with a steel

beam that has the head tube mounted in the

end. The extension of the frame is welded,

and is therefore not a suitable application in

terms of the necessity of using simple hand

tools. Mounting the head tube rigidly by

bolting steel together proves also to be a

considerable problem. With such concerns, it

is beneficial to steer away from the application

of steel in this case.

Using a wooden beam to extend the frame is a

more viable option here, as sufficient rigidity

can be obtained with the right type of profile.

A secure mount of headset bearings in wood is

also possible, as proved by structural testing of

the Ironwood Bicycle Project.40 The project

points out that bicycles can be engineered out

of wood to meet similar structural

requirements to that of a welded steel bicycle.

The benefit of work on such structures is also

its simplicity. The sufficient quality of

production can be undertaken by a person

with moderate knowledge in woodworking,

and simple tools, whereas producing strong

and reliable welds in steel requires

considerable specialist knowledge and high

energy usage.

“The tensile strength of timber is 4 times greater

than that of steel and 225 times greater than

concrete. When the compressive strength of these

three materials is compared, timber is 16 times

stronger than steel and 400 times stronger than

concrete. Timber is a superior structural

material with many advantages not only in

terms of its structural strength, but also in terms

of its environmental friendliness, its low

embodied energy, and its contribution to its

habitants’ health.” (KES Large Scale Timber

structures, Japan.41)

Using timber to extend the frame is a viable

option for the industrial tricycle, as well as the

Long John typeform. Glue lamination of

timber is also a consideration, as it allows

structures to be engineered specific to

purpose. Although adding slightly more

complexity to the process, such applications

can add strength and potentially reduce

weight and the amount of material needed.

This method can add quality structural

characteristics to poor quality wood. The

Ironwood bicycles have been successfully

manufactured even from glue-laminated

recycled pallet wood, which is an ideal

material in its availability and affordability.

The cart of the box bicycle appears most often

to be constructed from 25mm box section

tubing. Such profile is very easy and fast to

work with, yet does not offer as good strength

to weight ratio as round profile tubing.42 For

structural bolted joints, square profile is

superior to round tubing, as round tubing has

to be flattened in order for it to be used in

firmly bolted joints. Although entirely

possible, and a very easy process, flattening

will reduce the essential structural properties

of the tubing in an application like the front

cart frame. Square tubing can also be used to

create the structurally supporting box frame

for the Long John typeform. In terms of

availability, 25mm box section is a very

commonly used type of tubing for light steel

structures, and furniture. Because of its wide

application and low value, it is also a common

waste product and a suitable material for

unrefined, non-destructive recycling.

The sociable cargo bicycle requires very little

in terms of adapting to the restricted

production methods. It uses the most common

technology of the typeforms. The bicycles do

not necessarily have to be altered in any way

to build the structure, therefore it is possible

to use them unconnected also. Extending the

31

6.2

Making & Development

The guiding criteria of sustainability was

carried throughout the prototyping process to

control the tools, techniques, structural

solutions and material choices. The use of

simple tools and that do not require specialist

knowledge, high energy consumption and

special facilities were prioritised. Such

conditions were simulated to facilitate the

right direction of development. Most of the

material used was common waste and

discarded technology that was scavenged and

collected on bicycles.

Structural development was mainly done by

sketching with real materials, transferring

indeas directly into prototypes rather than on

paper, or 3D models. Material strengths and

properties, when recycled are unpredictable

and their application requires tacit knowledge.

Especially in the absence of similar

applications, structural properties of waste

materials necessitate physical testing in real

life.

cargo space is a key aim in adding to the

capability and flexibility of the vehicle. Having

the power of two cyclists is definitely an

advantage in terms of adding cargo capacity.

32

6.2.1 The Box Bike

The rear end of an industrial tricycle is

essentially identical to a traditional bicycle.

The aim of the first prototype was to examine,

how the frame could be extended using a

wooden beam. The idea was also to utilise as

much of the original bicycle frame tubing for

the construction as possible. Figures 22. and

23. show how the beam could be aligned to

reach a desired structure.

A great deal of the building was done in living

rooms, staircases and other limited facilities to

influence the direction of development

towards simple solutions.

Practicing tool and facility restrictions in the

beginning considerably helped sustaining such

methods. When working in a workshop

environment, it is easy to resort to the use of

specialist tools. There are many things, even

worktops and vices, one takes for granted in

good facilities.

Figure 22. Figure 23.

33

The first prototype was built in the living room

using a damaged mountain bicycle, waste CLS

timber from a window joiner, a shopping cart

found by the riverside, a steel frame from an

old school table and a pipe from a domestic

vacuum cleaner. The bearings and the steerer

tube were directly mounted to wood.

36

The prototype was tested by using it to collect

more material for the next model. There were

issues with the frame flex and the poor quality

CLS timber, which was substituted with a

more substantial, slower grown pine fence

post. The timber was left untreated, and the

bicycle was kept outside throughout the

Glasgow winter to see if the structural stability

would be affected. One year later the timber

beam is still holding well. Steerer tube

mounting style was changed from a wooden

block to being clamped between tubing.

38

A second prototype was constructed in

Finland, using a ladies’ mountain bicycle

frame to make tubing use more efficient. The

frame was more stable and easier to step

through. Laminated veneer lumber, a common

material used in house construction, was used

for the beam. A third cnnection point was

added by flattening the bottom tube stump

and bolting through it to the frame. Such

lamination increases the structural stability of

poor quality timber, hence making the

construction lighter. Lamination also

eliminates natural warping of timber in

changing humidity. An old school table was

used to build the front cart. M6 bolts used in

the cart construction were substituted for M8

to strengthen the joints and enable the use of

lower quality scavenged bolts.

42

Glue lamination is used to build the woodenbeam of the most recent Box Bike model.Construction was inspired by WilliamGreensmith's and Robert Battersby's woodenbicycle project techniques.40 They constructrigid bicycle frames simply by glue laminatingold pallette wood. Glue laminating old oakfloorboards to a poor quality fast grown

timber core can produce a frame that is aseffective and as strong as a solid oak beam,without the natural warping, andconsiderably less weight. The strength toweight ratio of such a construction willsuperseed that of steel tubing.

Long- and short wheelbase models (Mark 3and 4) were produced in this fashion. The

43

boxes were built from 16mm costruction scrapplywood. Brackets and wood screws wereused to hold the sides together. The box wasstable enough, so that a handlebar couldsimply be bolted to the back panel.Thedifference between the models was the framelength and effectively the box capacity. In thelong wheelbase model, the bottom of the box

was additionally supperted with a casterwheel, an idea that was conceived by AlecFarmer. The Shifter levers were mounted to apiece of wooden doweling that fit in the toptube stump.

The function, handling and structural stabilitymet the set criteria for a successful model.

46

6.2.2 The Doubler

The basis for development of the sociable

cargo bicycle; a large cargo platform module,

was influenced by bicycle cargo rear

extensions. Figure 24. shows such a

construction from 1945. A rear extension

increases the capacity of luggage that can be

transported in the rear of the bicycle.

A two-wheeled cargo module with similar

attachments can be used to combine two

bicycles together, supporting a large platform

in between. Figure 25. sketches were the basis

for this construction.

Figure 24. Figure 25.

Figure 3. A commercial extension from Xtracycle.

47

The cargo module was built from old table

frames. Same material was used to make

struts to connect the bicycles together from

seat tubes and head tubes. Car exhaust clamps

(U-bolts) were used to connect the struts. The

10mm tubing steering linkage bar connected

to the stems with track rod ends. Common

bicycle handlebar ends worked as steering

arms, fitting perfectly around the stem shaft.

They were aligned to point to the middle of

the rear axle to create the crucial ackermann

steering compensation, and then connected

with a right length rod.

50

Alec Farmer, a friend and bag maker in

Glasgow, was involved in building the second

sociable cargo bicycle from an old highway

sign frame. It was modified to suit his needs in

transporting a stall, which required a larger

platform. All together the bicycle was 1.2

meters wide.

Steering linkage was modified to be built with

simpler tools. A lower profile tube was used as

a clamp to eliminate chain drag when using

small chainring in the front. This allowed the

use of a wider range of gears, which

effectively enabled transporting even heavier

loads in hilly Glasgow.

This was an opportunity to follow someone

else at work and judge the ease of the tools

and techniques used. A lot of detailed material

was documented of the process of building to

help record the development and publish it on

the internet.

54

The third sociable cargo bicycle was built in

four days by the Bike Station Glasgow staff

members Paul and John. Both were skilled

mechanics, who also had experience in

fabricating. The build purpose was to help

transform the process into a 'build your own

cargo bicycle' course that could be taught as a

service inside the Bike Station.

The process was closely documented to get

more information about the individual steps,

so that they could be used for creating

instructions.

Accuracy was paramount in this process to

ensure correct fit and bolt alignment. It greatly

helps to get these measurements correct in the

first place, so that nothing has to be force-

fitted.

The structural standard reach of the chainstay

clamp was shortened, so that it would not

obstruct pedalling.

55

Paul adviced about more reliable measuring

techniques and suggested building jigs for the

drilling process. It was agreed, that for in-

house productions, having jigs for the drilling

processes was crucial. This would considerably

speed up the production and make it more

viable as a service.

The buffered length taken for a workshop

offered to an inexperienced builder was

estimated to take a working week in any case.

Offering such a course would prove difficult,

as not many people have the time at hand to

give a week, or a couple of weekends to such a

project.

To make the course more accessible, in general

prefabricated parts should be used, so that the

workshop could be offered in a shorter

timeframe. It would then concentrate in

assembling the bicycle and user specific

mofifications. Already this would offer enough

confidence to the user to be able to maintain

and repair the bicycle at need. In-depth

courses could still be offered to organisations,

that want to manufacture the bicycles

themselves.

58

6.2.3 The Barrel Bike

The challenge with the Long John typeform

was finding a suitable frame extension. Unlike

in the Christiania bike, the frame of the Long

John is subjected to the stress forces created

by the rider, as well as the dead weight of the

cargo.

An oil barrel was chosen as the cargo

compartment. A space frame would be

constructed to attach the barrel extension to

the bicycle, transferring stress forces three

dimensionally.

A working mountain bicycle was used for the

construction, with no permanent modifications

to the frame. The good thing with this

construction is, that like a module, it can also

be removed and the original bicycle can be

rebuilt as it was. A great amount of time was

spent at a Helsinki bicycle recycling center, to Figure 26.

59

determine how different standards and types

of bicycle components could be used to create

the steering mechanism. This was the most

complicated part of the structure, and very

crucial to get correct, in terms of the

rideability of the bicycle.

Having a large capacity cargo bicycle

considerably helped the logistics of the

scavenged material. Scavenged materials were

a destroyed children's bicycle frame, one

meter piece of 1" steel gas pipe, tubing from a

school table frame and an oil barrel. Garages

happily donate old oil barrels, as such waste

occupies considerable amounts of space and is

inconvenient to dispose of.

The barrel bike worked well from the

beginning on. It was finished in October and

stress tested by a friend, who rode it through

the winter. Later, he went on to build a new

model for himself, copying the structure by

looking at it and making his personal

modifications and improvements. The Mk 1

Barrel Bike is currently being used for

personal transportation in Helsinki.

65

6.3 Instructions

When the prototypes have reached a

functional stage, technical drawings of the

construction, as well as step-by step

instructions have been recorded and published

on the internet. All vehicles were in hard use

several times a week for at least half a year,

before they were determined to be structurally

sound and fit-for-purpose. Technical drawings

are sufficient for experienced builders, who

are most often eager to use information just as

a basis and then modify it to their own needs.

Step-by step instructions suit the

inexperienced, and can give enough

information and confidence to commence the

first large scale building project. The

instructions were produced in slightly different

ways to evaluate the reception for further

development. The instructions have been hand

illustrated to simplify the visual appearance of

the process. This was done, not only to remove

visual disturbance, but also make it appear

more 'human', and hence easier to approach.

The figures presented in this section are the

technical drawings of the current stage of the

vehicles. They do not provide exact

measurements of the entire geometry, as the

donor bicycle measurements vary, but provide

accurate information about how the parts for

the conversion will be fabricated.

The full instructions are included in the

appendix.

73

6.4

Utility Bicycles in Action

The prototypes have gone through rigorous

structural testing in practice and have been

stored outside, constantly exposed to the

elements. All of the bicycles are still on the

road. Three bicycles are currently on display at

the Glasgow Bike Station, where people can

try them and, if they want, rent them out. The

cargo bicycles built in Helsinki have been in

shared use. Locks with identical combinations

have been used, so that the bicycles can be

picked up at need.

This section presents in images, how some of

the vehicles have been used. It is a display of

the potential of human power, as it appears on

the streets.

95

6.5 Outside Involvement

This section presents experiences of some of

the people who have been making utility

bicycles, using them, and the purposes they

have found for them.

Noteworthy credit for contributing to

expanding the scope of the development go to

Alec Farmer, Martin Campbell, William

Greensmith and James Ring from Glasgow,

and Jussi Peltokangas from Finland. Their

interest and support, assistance in problem

solving, prototype testing and new

development has been significant in terms of

the current results.

96

"My name is Alec Farmer. I own Trakke

Messenger Bags in Glasgow. We have always

tried to run our business using bicycles

wherever possible. We ride to work, we use

bicycle couriers to deliver our bags locally but

the problem has always been moving bulky

items around the city - delivering large orders

to shops or moving stock and displays to

exhibition venues. We used to have to rent a

van for that kind of thing - until the Trakke

Cargo Bike came along.

Having seen a prototype of the Sociable

Tandem design by Uula Jero, it became clear

that this could be a perfect alternative to a van

for our company. We rarely cover large

distances, we don’t need the full capacity of a

van to move equipment and frankly, as a

startup company we don’t have the money to

spare to rent a van and fill it with fuel. A

cargo-bike solved all of these problems. We

could build the bike at very little cost, and it

runs using pedals, not petrol. Not only that,

but using the sociable tandem always attracts

attention - guerilla marketing at its best!

I headed down to Uula’s workshop and we

sketched out our design. I had requested a

few changes based on the kind of usage the

Trakke bike would get. Unlike the original

prototype, the Trakke bike needed a wider

load platform on the back to accomodate our

display system for exhibitions. It also needed

to be able to carry 2.4 metre poles, also for

the display system, so the platform needed a

longer platform to support this.

With a plan in mind, we set about building

the chassis that would connect the two bicycle

frames. Using a salvaged motorway

maintenance sign as the main body, we used

standard school table legs in 1” box profile to

create the extra metalwork we required to

fasten everything together. A bit of drilling,

bolting and a few coffees later, we had our

basic frame, and set about cutting the

platform from 18mm plywood. Before setting

up the bikes completely, we dismantled our

work and spray-painted the entire thing to

give a unified finish.

Once the paint was dry, we re-assembled the

bike and routed brake and gear cables

through the bodywork to make a functioning

bicycle. The only job left was the steering

connection. At first, this seemed complex due

The TRAKKE Mobile

97

to the differential system that Uula had

developed using mountain bike bar-ends.

However, a simple jig using string allowed us

mark out the correct angle to connect the

steering tube, and the bike was finished!

Since building the bike, it has been used to

ferry fabric across the city, deliver to shops,

move display systems to exhibitions such as

the Scottish Bike show and even been used as

a mobile shop display, allowing us to ride to

an event, step of the bike and begin selling

with no setup required. The kudos we have

received from the cycling community for

using a bicycle to run our business has been

amazing - reinforcing the ethos of our brand,

and creating some great dialogue between us

and our customers.

The beauty of the design really comes across

when it is in use. With two cyclists sat side-by-

side, enough power is generated to move

some really heavy loads, and yet you can have

a chat with your fellow cyclist the whole time.

The dual steering works exceptionally well,

allowing one cyclist to pedal hands-free while

the other steers - perfect for early morning

starts when coffee has to be passed back and

forth to fuel the riders! In many ways, the

sociable tandem feels like a close relative of

the car. When the platform is empty, you can

pick up friends en route - the can hang out on

the cargo platform while you do the driving.

We’ve been out with two people cycling and

four on the back - this bike can take some

serious weight, and with the right gearing,

pedals like a dream.

The potential for the sociable tandem is

endless. With a couple of seats bolted onto the

platform, it becomes a rickshaw. A table and a

blender makes it a pedal powered smoothie

bike. Fix some speakers and and amp on

there, and you have a portable soundsystem.

And the beginnings of all of this potential is

just some simple hand-tools, a bit of space to

work and someone else’s junk. It doesn’t get

more open source than that!" (Story by Alec

Farmer)

98

William Greensmith is developing easy-to

build wooden bicycles from recycled wood

based on Robert Battersby's original wooden

bicycle prototype. The People's Utility Bicycle

Project and William Greensmith's Glasgow

Wooden Bicycle Project collaboration lead to

the creation of two entirely wooden Box

Bikes. Currently William is working on a

prototype for an all-wooden Long John-type

cargo bicycle. He writes about the

collaboration:

"I think the wooden bike and peoples utility

bike is a perfect collaboration - over the past

months I have been developing a bicycle

frame made out of scrap wood and through

collaboration with the utility bike project I

was inspired to make an all wood cargo bike.

The idea behind the wooden project is to

design a bike which can be easily constructed

with basic skills so it was great to try out this

construction method for a different kind of

bike - helping to refine the construction

method and show how it could be an

alternative to steel bikes. The only problem

with mark 1 was that the main beam (down

tube?) was not stiff enough. I have finished

number 2 now with a chunkier and shorted

down tube which seems to have sorted it -

more testing will show up any more problems

I am sure. I also plan to make a wooden sub

frame for the box and have started making a

wooden long john.

CI hope also the bikes I have made will

contribute to the utility bike project by

displaying more possibilities for utility bikes

and therefore making utility bikes even more

accessible. Since there are no mass produced,

cheap to buy utility bikes available yet i think

the peoples utility bike project is a great idea

and will show people that there is an

alternative to mass produced items which can

be cheaper and a lot more exciting.

I have used the bike loads for shifting material

around - back and forth from the workshop -

and also have had friends borrow it a couple

times for moving flats / moving around amps

and band stuff.

Thanks for having me be part of the project!"

(Story by William Greensmith)

The Wooden Cargo Bicycle

102

James Ring built a long back cargo bicycle

using a modified half of the sociable cargo

bicycle construction. He needed more space to

transport his equipment and skateboard

around. This model is the first prototype of a

bicycle that he would like to use for touring in

the mountains.

The top platform was designed to be

replaceable with a skateboard. The slot in the

left side platform was made to attach a bicycle

front wheel to. This meant, that a bicycle

could be towed behind.

This bicycle is currently still at a prototype

stage, waiting for the Mk 2 build with better

components and lighter materials, to make it

more convenient to disassemble and transport,

for example in a train or an airplane.

James' Long Back Loader

106

After test riding the Barrel Bike Mk 1 through

the winter 2011-12, Jussi Peltokangas built his

own cargo bicycle. He used the Mk 1 as the

istructions, replicating the construction using

his own methods alongside to modify the

outcome. Jussi reduced the dimensions and

improved the fit and quality of steering

components. He documented his process

carefully and published it on the People's

Utility Bicycle Project facebook page.

"I received the Barrel Bike built by Uula to be

ridden in December 2011. It was especially

useful in establishing the do-it-yourself bicycle

workshop. I transported for example tools,

storage drawers, a tool wall made from two

doors, other bicycles and spare parts. I made

my ten kilometre commute several times with

it on icy and snowy bicycle lanes. The bicycle

worked well.

Parts for my own bike, even rod ends, were

gradualy found in skips. The only things I

spent money in were a couple of bolts and

Jussi's Barrel Bike

107

drill bits.

I was wondering whether to weld the frame,

but the bolted structural joints that had

proven to work were easy to copy. The hardest

part was drilling large holes without a pillar

drill.

I used thinner wall tubing than what the

original Barrel Bike frame extension was made

of. I left out the support struts that connect

the barrel to the bicycle frame. For these

reasons, the bottom tube gave out a little."

(Quotes from Jussi Peltokangas) Jussi has now

fixed the initial structural problems, and is

currently actively using his Barrel Bike.

Jussi is running an open and free, not for

profit bicycle workshop in Helsinki called

Pyöräpaja Ry. Anyone can come there and

build themselves a bicycle, or fix one at no

cost. Currently it is operating with donations,

but constructing and selling cargo bicycles in

the premises has been discussed to generate

income as a part of improving the workshop's

self-sufficiency and hence securing its

existence.

"Pyöräpaja is public space for reparing and

building bicycles. No one is reparing other

people's bikes, so everyone does it by themself

(D.I.Y). There is help and advice available.

Pyöräpaja runs with volunteers and no one

gets paid, so all help and donations are

needed (tools, spare parts, money for rent)."

The vehicles constructed in Helsinki have

mostly been in the shared use of those

affiliated with the Pyöräpaja Ry. Some interest

is also gaining in Helsinki, and currently there

are two cargo bicycle projects under

construction at the workshop.

110

One Box Bike was commissioned by Rachna

from Babu Kitchen. She saw the Box Bike Mk

1, the one with the shopping trolley, parked

on the street and left a note. She is running an

indian food takeaway kitchen, and wanted a

bicycle for delivering chilled food in tiffin

boxes around Glasgow.

Babu kitchen Box Bike was built with a

laminated frame, like the Mk 3 and 4. An old

refridgerator was used as the fron box. The

compressor had been removed, and it was

actually lighter than the plywood boxes.

Despite being old, the seals were fine and it

insulated well, making it possible to keep

transported food cold using frozen salt

solution blocks. The box was made lockable.

She could transport 50 tiffin boxes and some

extra indian bread in one run with this

bicycle. On a busy day she would normally

transport around one hundred tiffin boxes

around Glasgow, which she could fit in a car

boot in one go, but at a much higher cost.

The box was painted in Babu Kitchen yellow

to prepare it for advertisement illustrations

that would be added on later.

The Babu Bike

6.6 Work with the Glasgow

Bike Station

6.6.1 The Vision of Glasgow Bike Station

and the Future of the People's Utility

Bicycle Project

Gregory Chauvet, the manager of Bike Station

Glasgow quit his career in business for moral

reasons soon after he was taught how to ride a

bicycle in the Edinburgh Bike Station. Whilst

riding his bicycle, he discovered another

perspective to operating in the society. The

traditional profit-based economy made less

sense to him, as it ran in an alarmingly

unsustainable manner. To Gregory, the model

of social enterprise seemed like a more

responsible and sustainable manner of serving

the society: rather than having paramount

interest in the shareholders and profit, and

consuming new resources, social enterprise

model manages existing resources respectfully,

and uses them to empower people in a more

efficient manner.

Gregory started ‘The Bike Shed’ from scratch

with Richard Kidd, the workshop manager,

with a boxful of tools and a couple of grubby

bicycles. It expanded rapidly, filling a void in

Glasgow: there were underlying unmet needs,

that the Bike Shed conveniently stepped in to

serve. Sharing the vision, the Bike Shed soon

united in strength with Bike Station and

became its Glasgow franchise. According to

Gregory, the key is in providing people with

quality recycled bicycles and services, which in

exchange improves the quality of the resource

base. Healthier resource base means healthier

ways of managing it. Supporting and

encouraging people to cycle and enhancing the

means translates to a more cycle-friendly

environment and more sophisticated ways of

serving in it. Social enterprises develop in

return for the service they give, not the profit

they take.

Gregory sees that the challenge of charitable

organisations is to sustain themselves. He says

this is exactly where a social enterprise can

succeed, as it can receive boost from grants,

but just to develop into a self-sustaining

service. Making profit is necessary for existing

without grants, as wages an facilities must be

paid for, but the benefit of such profit will

remain in the community and excess will be

used to extend its positive impact. Sometimes

the existence of the service is also its

responsibility. People come to rely on the

sheltering environments provided by charities,

and the threat of funding cuts is a risk of

leaving them abandoned.

Gregory sees the future mobility concentrating

locally in large cities, and hence cargo bicycles

could serve as an ideal tool for supporting

small-scale logistics, and especially personal

utilitarian transportation in such environments.

Population in cities continues to grow, and its

concentration will make proprietary motorised

transportation physically unsuitable, as the

traffic congestion in several cities already

drastically reduces its viability. Gregory sees

staying in the forefront of developing the

services around utilitarian cycling, as well as

the applications of human power in machines

as the very heart of developing the benefit of

the service. Pushing into such new frontiers

responds to the arising needs of the people.

Because of the scarcity of physical examples of

the potential of utilitarian transportation, such

solutions are still unrecognised. Displaying the

cargo bicycles in the Bike Station facilities, as

112

well as on the streets has potential of creating

demand, and therefore expanding the scope

and sophistication of the service to the

community.

(Information based on an interview with

Gregory Chauvet)

6.6.2 The collaboration

A considerable part of the project was

conducted in collaboration with the Glasgow

Bike Station. The project has been tailored to

meet the demands of operating under such

structure: providing a service of prefabricated

cargo bicycles requires detailed cost estimates

and anchoring to the local resource base.

Educating the community by running do-it-

yourself workshops under umbrella of the Bike

Station necessitates also calculating such costs,

the development of functioning teaching plans

and estimating viable scopes for the length of

the course. The development through the

collaboration has lead to establishing the

People’s Utility Bicycle project as a part of

Glasgow Bike Station’s services, starting in the

cycling season 2012.41 Currently space for

fabrication and running courses is being

organised in Bike Station's new premises.

6.6.3 Fabrication

Fabricating is currently taking place in a

separate workshop, and is not working as

optimally as being in the same premises with

the Bike Station, and the material supply. For

offering prebuilt cargo bicycles as a service to

the community, the costs have been calculated,

so that it is financially viable. Such estimates42

have been produced with the presumption of

working in the same premises with the Bike

Station and do not take into account the

current problem of logistics. One custom-built

bicycle has been sold so far to a Babu Kitchen,

which delivers Indian food around Glasgow.

A fabrication space inside the new Bike Station

premises is currently being prepared. When

interest for cargo bicycles picks up, vehicles can

be efficiently produced in-house. If there is

enough demand, new employment

opportunities can be created around

fabrication. There is an overflowing resource of

used bicycle technology that is ready to be used

for such purpose. Not all bicycles will be

refurbished by the Bike Station, and a lot of

material still gets scrapped for metal recycling,

or sent to developing countries. The process

can be made more efficient by utilising a

considerable amount of this waste to build

utility bicycles. Currently what the People's

Utility Bicycle Project provides, is the

developing knowledge to create useful

solutions from it.

The calculated price for a utility bicycle

purchased through the Bike Station ranges

from £400 to £450. Price for custom orders is

calculated by an addition of £10 per hour of

extra work required. The cost estimate figures

take into account the possibility of having to

buy new square tubing, for example, if

sufficient quantities cannot be found recycles.

The Bike Station can currently provide for all

the needs of discarded bicycle technology, but

the resources for discarded steel tubing and

scrap wood are still to be secured. Such

connections will form over time, as more

people become aware of the project.

113

6.6.4 Workshops

After test driving a vehicle at the Bike Station,

an interested customer can either commission

such a bicycle from the People's Utility Bicycle

Project, or sign up for a periodically arranged

workshop, that can take place when enough

interest has been gathered. A workshop, where

three bicycles are built can be supervised by a

single person. For this, three sets of necessary

tools will be required. Currently funding is

being applied to kickstart the workshops.

Workshops will be offered to people, who are

interested in learning more about their

vehicles. The purpose of such workshops is to

rekindle self-sufficiency and distributing

knowledge of sustaining such technology.

When the workshop and fabrication space is

ready at the Bike Station, such courses can be

offered at a cost of additional £200. This cost is

formed by the necessity for supervising staff

presence and the use of fabricating tools and

consumables. In the perfect scenario, such cost

could be eliminated and the bicycles could be

offered at a discount price to those who

fabricate them themselves. This would be more

encouraging for enrolling, but would require

first economic development or additional

supporting funding. Currently such an option is

more accessible to organisations, who want to

gain knowledge in producing and maintaining

such vehicles. Those who cannot afford a

course can still access the information provided

by the instructions, that are distributed for free

at the Bike Station.

The structuring of teaching plans was assisted

by the Bike Station workshop manager Richard

Kidd. He has experience in running courses and

workshops, and has acquired good knowledge

in planning lessons. A pilot workshop was run

at the Bike Station to help gain an

understanding of an instructed building

process. The results of time estimates and

mapped stages of the process was then formed

into a possible teaching plan43.

114

7. Aesthetics and Visual

Communication of Values

Environmental and social factors, as well as

moral responsibility have been the main driver

for the development of the vehicles. Ornaments

add to the cost and complexity of the

construction, and are therefore left to the user's

discretion. There has been relatively little

emphasis put on the honing of aesthetic

attributes, other than what the material

honesty and functional appearance grant. The

vehicles are appropriate technology, and aim to

provide more of a 'blank canvas' for users' and

developers' decoration needs. Such approach

encourages involvement and deepens the users'

relationship to the products they use.

“[O]nly a small part of our responsibility lies in

the area of aesthetics.” (Victor Papanek,

198444)

With raising ecological awareness and longing

for long-lasting technology, there is a growing

appreciation and acceptance towards

imperfection in the objects surrounding

everyday life. Terms like 'shabby chic' and

rustic are more often considered synonyms of

beauty; indicators of unpolished honesty and

hidden stories. Objects that have 'grown up',

showing signs of appreciation and attachment

become more human and withhold a different

value than the perfection of objects that come

off the mass production line.

“[P]roducts must evolve alongside users,

sustaining value by revealing their true beauty

only through the slow passing of time…

Modern products are too precise, removing all

possible surprise, mystery and, perhaps above

117

all, charm from the process of engaging with

them.” (Chapman, 2005, pp. 48)

Some prefer not to polish off the patina, as it

signifies maturity, and value that accumulates

with age. When recycling and reusing is

considered a virtue, the reality of secondary

materials does not have to be hidden away.

All of the built vehicles consist mainly of

recycled materials which hold aesthetic value

in their own right. What has been done to

improve superficial appearance, is due to

practical reasons. Varnishing wood not only

protects the wood from the elements, but adds

depth and tone to the grain. The deep earthy

red coat of rust inhibitive primer does not leave

the colour disagreeable, and enables any coat

to be applied by the user afterwards.

Often just removing the plastic brand and

model decals, that had been added solely to

add imaginary trend value, off the old bicycle

frames makes them look much more functional

and agreeable. Consider, for example labels,

like “Apollo RAPID REACTOR 21 SPEED

SHIMANO INDEX SHIFTING” or “UNIVERSAL

RAMPAGE” written all over the frame. It is

advantageous to give the user an opportunity

to give their vehicles names that are more

appealing and easier to relate to, that express

their own values.

'Branding' stickers have been printed for the

People's Utility Bicycle Project, and they can be

applied on the bicycles if the user decides so, to

advertise and promote access to the open

source information on the internet.

Visual identity material, included in the

appendix45, has been produced for the People's

Utility Bicycle Project by illustrator Eva

Dolgyra. Logos and images used to

communicate the project employ the symbol of

a raised fist of emancipation, in conjunction

with a spanner that stands for returning the

tools into the hands of people.

118

8. Results

119

Produced vehicles:

Industrial tricycle type / 'The Box Bike':

Box bike Mk 1, Glasgow

Box bike Mk 2, Donated to Occupy Helsinki

Box bike Mk 3, produced for Bike Station

Glasgow. Used for testing, rental and Dr. Bike

mobile bicycle mechanic.

Boxbike Mk 4, currently a test / rental bike at

the Bike Station Glasgow

Boxbike Mk 5, a delivery bicycle made for Babu

Kitchen Indian food takeaway.

Sociable cargo bicycle type / 'The

doubler':

Doubler Mk 1, in shared use in Helsinki,

mainly by the organisation Pyöräpaja Ry.

Doubler Mk 2, Trakke bicycle built for Alec

Farmer's bag company.

Doubler Mk 3, Built in the Bike Station

Glasgow, currently there for renting / testing.

Long John type / 'The Barrel Bike'

Mk 1, produced in Helsinki. In use as personal

transportation.

Total: 9 vehicles

Vehicles developed and

produced independently:

William Greensmith's wooden Box Bikes:

Mk 1 and Mk 2, necessary information

gathered from instructions and replicated from

prebuilt components.

Martin Campbell Rag n' Bone Workshop Box

Bike, modified from the Mk 1 Box Bike.

One box bike under construction from

instructions, currently in Helsinki, at the open

bicycle workshop of Pyöräpaja Ry

Jussi Peltokangas' Barrel Bike replicated from

the physical construction of the Barrel Bike

Mk 1.

One Barrel Bike currently under construction in

Helsinki, at the open bicycle workshop of

Pyöräpaja Ry

James Ring's long back cargo bicycle.

Replicated and modified from the Sociable

cargo bicycle frame extension.

Total: 4 vehicles on the road and 2

under construction

120

Project exposure:

Web site traffic: (http://www.toolsforasimplelife.org)

5 361 hits between Oct 2011 – Oct 2012

(Global traffic, with United States the primary

source)

Facebook:

(http://www.facebook.com/ThePeoples

UtilityBicycleProject)

891 reached inside the first month Sept – Oct

2012

Project exhibited (two vehicles on

display) at the Scottish Bike Show

alongside The Bike Station Glasgow,

spring 2012

Scottish Television (STV Glasgow)

article:

'Can broomsticks, bolts and wood change the

way we travel?'

http://local.stv.tv/glasgow/magazine/98610-

could-a-broomstick-some-bolts-and-a-

broomstick-change-the-way-we-travel/

Featured at Pinso.co.uk:

http://www.pinso.co.uk/2012/09/bike-

builder-uula-jero/

http://www.pinso.co.uk/2012/09/build-a-

bike-instructions/

Featured on the Trakke website:

http://trakke.vaesite.com/article/july-20-

2012--peoples-utility-bicycle-project

Two bicycles for rent at the Glasgow

Bike Station. Fabrication service

advertised at the Bike Station, and on

their website:

http://www.thebikestation.org.uk/cargo-bikes/

121

9. Conclusion

The results confirm, that it is possible to

create fit-for-purpose utility bicycles

using the waste of this society, generate

collaboration in building and developing

them, and operate viably in the current

economic reality, within a social

enterprise framework.

The project has received considerable

interest locally, and globally. The

development has gained enough

momentum, that it can be considered

self-sustaining, without the necessity for

the input of the originator.

The process has thoroughly tested the

viability of the original hypothesis,

concluding that the potential of utilising

bicycle technology for personal

transportation under an energy crisis is

possible.

123

10. Bibliography

1. Arendt, Hannah, 'The Human Condition', (The University of Chicago Press, 2nd edition, 1998)

2. Bas Van Abel, Lucas Evers, Roel Klaassen, Peter Troxler 'Open Design Now – Why Design

Cannot Remain Exclusive' (BIS Publishers, 2011)

3. Chapman, Jonathan, Emotionally Durable Design, (Earthscan, 2005)

4. Corfe, Robert, Social Capitalism in Theory and Practice, Vol 3, (Arena books, 2008)

5. Crawford, Matthew B., 'Shop Class as Soulcraft – an Inquiry into the Value of Work' (Penguin

Books, 2010)

6. Cross, Nigel, 'The Coming of Post-Industrial Design' (Design Studies, Vol. 2, 1981)

7. Greer, John Michael, 'The Long Descent' (New Society Publishers, 2008,)

8. Morris, William, 'The Revival of Handicraft', (Fortnightly Review, 1988)

9. Papanek, Victor, 'Design for the Real World', (Thames & Hudson, 2nd edition, 1985)

10. Sennett, Richard, 'The Craftsman', (Penguin Books, 2009)

124

1“changes in oil market conditions have direct and indirect effects on the global economy, including on growth,

inflation, external balances, and poverty. Since the late 1990s,

oil prices have generally risen—notwithstanding cyclical fluctuations—and supply constraints are widely

perceived to have contributed to this trend. This has raised concerns that the oil market is entering a period of

increased scarcity.” (IMF, April 2011, Oil Scarcity, Growth and Global Imbalances, Chapter III, pp. 90-91,

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/pdf/c3.pdf)

2http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/Modal_Shift_Study_-_Technical_Report.pdf, pp. 4

3http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~wggray/Teaching/His300/Illustrations/Limits-to-Growth.pdf

4http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/1_lpr_2012_online_full_size_single_pages_final_120516.pdf, pp.6

5http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/material-resources-and-waste-2014

6“EU waste management policies aim to reduce the environmental and health impacts of waste and improve

Europe’s resource efficiency. The long-term goal is to turn Europe into a recycling society, avoiding waste and

using unavoidable waste as a resource wherever possible. The aim is to achieve much higher levels of recycling

and to minimise the extraction of additional natural resources. Proper waste management is a key element in

ensuring resource efficiency and the sustainable growth of European economies.” (Being wise with waste: the

EU’s approach to waste management, pp.2, 2010, ISBN 978-92-79-14297-0)7http://www.mrw.co.uk/news/eu-resource-roadmap-will-propose-incentives-for-resource-efficient-

products/8613485.article

8http://www.mrw.co.uk/news/caroline-jackson-condemns-eu-waste-roadmap/8620315.article

9Karliner as quoted by Corfe, 2008, pp. 28 “the model of growth currently in force in the world economy is

creating, not alleviating poverty, and environmental destruction.”

10http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1394467

11The European Anti-Poverty Network, http://www.eapn.eu/en/news-and-publications/press-room/eapn-press-

releases/europe-2020s-poverty-target-will-not-be-met-with-current-approach

12Eurostat, Europe 2020 Indicators, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/Euro_2020/E2020_EN_banner.html

13Wates: “Despite the recession, Social Enterprise (SE) saw strong growth in 2010 with 56% increasing their

turnover from the previous year, compared to only 28% for SMEsiii. This is a strong message, proving that SEs

can contribute to the economic growth of the UK and business, and the public sector needs to be encouraged to

work more closely with them.” http://www.wates.co.uk/thought-leadership/social-enterprise-can-drive-

economic-growth-668

14Social Enterprise London: “Social enterprises are at the forefront of this move towards a more

sustainable society. Over 7002 community businesses, social firms, co-operatives

and other social enterprises already deliver a growing range of sustainable

waste management services across the UK. This number is set to grow, with

125

new legislation and funding creating opportunities in every part of the country. ”

(www.sel.org.uk/uploads/Social-Enterprise-Guide-to-Recycling.pdf) pp. 4

15ACRR: “Recycling activities are labour intensive. For this reason, recycling is one of the most interesting and

important sectors in the development and growth of social enterprises, which main role is the reinsertion, through

work, of people affected by any sort of exclusion. Recycling becomes a source of jobs for unskilled or long-term

unemployed people.” (http://resourcities.acrplus.org/recycling/good_business.htm )

16“In "Creating Wealth from Waste" (1999) Robin Murray estimates that an intensive programme of recycling in

the UK could create between 10.000 and 55.000 new jobs, taking into account those who would be lost in the

process.” (http://resourcities.acrplus.org/recycling/good_business.htm)

17Paul A. David: “As the nature of new technologies changes, however, it has become evident that the familiar

legal contraptions of "patents" and "copyrights" are rather ill-suited to the realities of some of the situations in

which they are being put to work...They continue to be looked to as stimuli for the generation of useful

innovations, but, while enabling the private appropriation of economic benefits from new scientific and

engineering knowledge, the familiar devices for protection intellectual property are known to have a variety of

untoward side-effects that may be distorting and even impeding the progress of technology.”

(http://ecohist.history.ox.ac.uk/readings/ip/david1.doc) pp.6

18http://www.n55.dk

19http://www.openstructures.net/

20Meccano is a modular children's toy that enables building various devices from a universal set of components.

http://www.meccano.com/

21http://forums.makezine.com/

22http://www.instructables.com/

23Robert Paajanen & Janne Rastas, 2010, pp.15 “[In many high technology countries, it has happened, that crafts

education, or equivalent has changed into technology education...]” (Translated from Finnish,

http://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/63089/graduPaajanenRastas.pdf?sequence=1)

24“The world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. In 2008, for the first time in history, more

than half of the world’s population will be living in towns and cities. By 2030 this number will swell to almost 5

billion, with urban growth concentrated in Africa and Asia. While mega-cities have captured much public

attention, most of the new growth will occur in smaller towns and cities, which have fewer resources to respond

to the magnitude of the change. In principle, cities offer a more favourable setting for the resolution of

social and environmental problems than rural areas. Cities generate jobs and income. With good

governance, they can deliver education, health care and other services more efficiently than less

densely settled areas simply because of their advantages of scale and proximity.” Source: UNFPA

(http://www.unfpa.org/pds/urbanization.htm)

126

http://resourcities.acrplus.org/recycling/good_business.htm

http://resourcities.acrplus.org/recycling/good_business.htm)

http://resourcities.acrplus.org/recycling/good_business.htm))

25“In the US, 15-20 million bikes are purchased each year, and it's estimated that around 10 million bikes are

discarded. The figures are similar in other Western countries. Even if only half of the West's discarded bikes are

still usable it represents an enormous untapped resource.” Source: Bicycles for humanity (http://www.bicycles-

for-humanity.org/Solutions.php)

In 2000, the number of bicycles produced reached 104 million, in comparison to 40 million cars. Source:

Historical data series compiled by Worldwatch Institute, Vital Signs 1996, 2002, 2005 (New York: W.W. Norton &

Company, 1996, 2002)

26Source: Museum of Tradesman's Delivery Bikes (http://tradesmansbike.wordpress.com/working-bicycles-

tricycles-and-hand-carts/)

27 “In some cities, the role of the bicycle is being expanded to include certain types of hauling. Bicycles will never

displace trucks for carrying heavy freight, but the small loads and frequent stops required of some urban

deliveries often favor use of a bike. This was the experience of the largest industrial bakery in Bogotá, which

replaced 200 delivery trucks with 800 tricycles a few years ago—a move that substantially lowered the cost of

deliveries to its 22,000 daily customers. Similarly, a Pepsi distributor in San Salvador found that a bicycle and

trailer could deliver 900 cases of soda per month—as many as the previous delivery vehicle, a 5-ton truck, but at

a fraction of the expense.” Source: Gary Gardner, World Watch Institute: When Cities Take Bicycles Seriously,

1998 (http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/EP115A.pdf)

28EU-funded project Cycle Logistics baseline study, http://www.cyclelogistics.eu

29“While the bicycle is still an essential form of transportation in China, the country has recently seen a rapid

decrease in bike ownership as its population becomes wealthier and turns to cars. From 1995 to 2005, China’s

bike fleet declined by 35 percent, from 670 million to 435 million, while private car ownership more than

doubled, from 4.2 million to 8.9 million. Blaming cyclists for increasing accidents and congestion, some city

governments have closed bike lanes. Shanghai even banned bicycles from certain downtown roads in 2004. This

deterioration in Chinese bike culture emerges even as the country’s share of world bicycle production continues to

rise: China now turns out more than four fifths of the 130 million bikes produced each year.” Source: J. Matthew

Roney, Bicycles Pedaling into Spotlight (http://www.earth-policy.org/indicators/C48)

30Credit Suisse Report (http://www.businessinsider.com/credit-suisse-chinese-automation-boom-2012-8?op=1)

31 UK Parliament data (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/olympic-britain/transport/are-

we-nearly-there-yet/)

32 Source: The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jul/25/majority-car-owners-struggling-costs)

33 http://www.raisethehammer.org/blog/2458/biking_saves_us_riders_billions

34 Research shows that cycling uses 35 calories per passenger mile compared to the 1,860 calories burned by a

modern car with an internal combustion engine. The energy used by cycling is nearly a thirtieth of that of public

transportation, and a third of the effort for walking. Source: Worldwatch Institute, Matter of Scale – Bicycle

Frame (http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4057)

127

35Source: Low Tech Magazine (http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2012/09/jobs-of-the-future-cargo-cyclist.html)

36 http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/Irresistible.pdf

http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/734/cycling/cycling-rates-by-country/

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5462

37 An example collection of recent articles:

http://gizmodo.com/cargo-bike/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/may/05/cargo-trailer-bikes-kids?INTCMP=SRCH

http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/bikes-and-gear-features/coolest-bike-ever-made

http://momentummag.com/articles/the-cargo-bike-a-vehicle-that-will-change-your-life

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2012/may/02/cargo-bike-city-courier-truck

http://www.opb.org/news/article/cargo-bikes-could-play-key-role-crisis/

http://www.bikehub.co.uk/news/bike-to-work/cargo-bikes-can-be-last-mile-delivery-solution-for-cities-hears-

new-lobby-group/

38Ironwood bicycle is a design by the architect Robert Battersby, that has been developed in collaboration with the

Mechanical Engineering Department in the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. The purpose of the project is to

prove that wood is a viable and flexible material for bicycle construction. The bicycle itself is aimed for production in

developing countries, with simple tools and improvisation, where the use of non standardised components is

necessary. http://www.ironwoodbicycle.com

39Experiments conducted by the Japan Housing and Wood Technology Center, HOWTEC, documented in the book

`Timber and Japanese houses’ (http://structure.kes.ne.jp/KesTechnicalArchitecture/architecture/index.html)

40John Zabriskie, 1995: Tubing Selection for Recumbent frames (http://mnhpva.org/tech/frame_tubes.html)

41http://www.thebikestation.org.uk/cargo-bikes/

42 See appendix, iv: cargo bike cost estimate form.

43See appendix, v: sociable cargo teaching plan

44Source: Victor Papanek, Design ford the Real World Ebook, pp. 23

(http//playpen.icomtek.csir.co.za/education/Dr_Anvind_Gupa/Learners_Library_7_March_2007/Resources/book

s/designvictor.pdf)

45See appendix, i: People's Utility Bicycle Project visual identity material

Internet sources checked 15.10.2012

128

12. Appendix

129

People's Utility Bicycle Project Visual Identity Material

i

Main logo

Head tube emblem Stamp / small logo

Recommended tools and consumables:

D4 rated exterior wood glue/marine epoxy, yacht varnish, metal paint,

panel saw for cutting wood, saw for cutting metal, plane or surform plane,

sandpaper (coarse and fine), metal file, wood rasp, cutting fluid for

drill ing, 32mm drill bit for wood, HSS or cobalt metal bits: 10, 8, 6 & 4mm,

center punch, set square, measuring tape, side cutter pliers, pair of

adjustable wrenches, drill, clamps with at least 80mm reach, mallet and

hammer.

Tools for the project starting from the top, going left to right: D4

rated wood glue, yacht varnish, paint for protecting metal, panel saw,

hacksaw with 24tpi blades, surform plane (cheap tool for 'grating'

down wood surfaces), sandpaper (P60 and P150 grit), metal file, half

round wood rasp, cutting fluid (for using when drill ing metal, cools

down and prevents drill bits from wearing out when drill ing metal),

drill bits: 32mm flat bit for wood, 10, 8, 6, 3mm bits for metal (use

cobalt bits if you have the option), centre punch (for marking holes),

tape measure, side cutting pliers (for cutting and installing shifter

and brake cables), 2 adjustable wrenches (going up to 17mm, or a set

of spanners: 8,9,10,13, 15 and 17mm), drill, a set of clamps (or an

improvised clamp from wood with two bolts), plastic or leather mallet

and a hammer.

Parts and hardware for the bike: Two 20" wheels with 36 spokes and

10mm axles, a fork from a children's bicycle with 1" steerer tube (The

unthreaded section in the steerer tube should be no longer than

100mm, or alternatively the height of the wooden beam) and a full

set of fitting headset bearings. Hardware: Three M6 x 70 bolts with

two washers and a nylock nut each Twelve M8 x 60 bolts with two

washers and a nylock nut each Four M10 x 100 bolts with two washers

and a nylock nut each Two M10 x 150 bolts with two washers an a

nylock nut each Stem that fits in the steerer tube of the fork. (the

angle must be 90 degrees or less) Two rear-length (approximately

1,2m long) shifter cables and housings Two thumb shifters: front and

rear shifter (if the project bicycle does not come with them) Top

clamp from a kickstand Two front long reach calliper brakes (the bolt

must be longer 30mm) Two rear-length brake cables and housings

(approximately 1,2m long) Two wide riser handlebars (and brake

levers for one)

There are two options for the wooden frame. One is just to use a good

quality slowly grown timber beam, in size 3" x 4" or similar with

minimum dimensions of 75mm width, 80mm height and 1200mm

length. The second option is to glue laminate the beam using layers

of good quality timber on the surfaces with a core of lighter, poorer

quality timber. Such glue laminated beam will produce a stiffer and

stronger frame that weighs less than the first option. Skip the next

four steps if you are not glue laminating.

Glue laminating considerations: placing the boards in a stack should

produce a profile at least 80mm high, so choose the height of the

core board accordingly. Example: the floorboards are 20mm each, and

the core 40, which yields the required result. The width of the beam

should be no less than 80mm.

All pieces should be cut to a length of 1200 mm. For glue laminating,

sand or plane the joining surfaces even to prepare for gluing.

Use strong, preferably D4 rated waterproof wood glue.

With a brush, spread glue evenly to all surfaces that are joined.

If you don't have clamps, you can improvise some using scrap pieces

of wood that clamp together with 150mm long bolts.

Clamp the pieces together, applying pressure evenly. The more

clamps, the better the result. Recommended minimum is 6.

Strip a complete donor bicycle down. Both front and rear derailleur

can remain attached. The crankset can be left on if the extractor tool

is not available, but removing it makes the building process a bit

easier. Clean the frame and the components of dirt and grease to

prevent it from contaminating wood.

Mark and cut the the tubes as shown here, leaving approximately

100mm stumps in the top and bottom tube, and splitting the head

tube as close to the top tube as possible.

Flatten the bottom tube stump against a wooden surface with a

mallet, bending it parallel to the chainstays.

Drill a 10mm hole in the middle of the flattened stump. It is good to

file the end round like shown. File off anything that protrudes from

the bottom bracket shell and the chainstays. This includes cable

guides and the corners of the kickstand mount which are often folded

down. The bottom of the frame should be as smooth as shown in the

picture.

Taper down a 300mm section of both sides in the end of the beam,

narrowing it down to 60mm to facilitate crank clearance. If the beam

has been glue laminated, scrape off the extra glue and trim all

surfaces even.

Mark the outline for a round groove that is approximately 40mm wide

and 15mm deep. Leave a distance of 100mm from the middle of the

groove to the end of the frame. An indent will be made here to sink

the protruding bottom bracket shell into the frame.

To make the groove, a rough 'v' cut can be made with a panel saw,

and then ground round with a semi circular wood rasp or coarse

sandpaper around a piece of dowel or pipe. Once the frame can be sat

flush against the beam, project down the holes for the rear (where

the kickstand mount hole is, or approximately 20mm from the end)

and down directly from the flattened stump. It is harder to mark the

hole for the stump, so use an engineer's square (anything square will

do) to check that the alignment of the marking is right. Use the

square to project the holes to the opposing side and make sure they

align, too.

Drill one surface at a time, halfway through. When you drill the

opposing side, the holes will join. It will help in aligning the drilled

hole. First pilot drill with 6mm, and afterwards go through with a

10mm bit.

Use a 150mm M10 bolt and the top clamp of a kickstand to fasten the

frame down against the beam in the back. The front requires a spacer

block as shown. Find a suitable height piece of wood, cut it and drill

through with a 10mm bit. Fasten the flattened tube down, bolting

through the spacer block and the beam. Make sure the frame sits

straight on the beam.

When the rear of the frame is aligned and fastened, slot the cut

bottom tube over the top tube stump as shown. Rest the tube on the

side of the frame and trace its middle across the top face. Make

another line parallel to the beam its middle. Making these lines will

assist in maintaining the alignment in the hole to be drilled for the

strut.

Start by drill ing a 6mm pilot hole following the direction carefully.

Next drill with a 32mm bit, starting with a slightly milder angle as

shown to cut into the wood, and then slowly align it to the marks.

If the angle turns out squint, you can use a round wood rasp to adjust

and open up the hole a bit, so that the frame sits as straight as

possible. Disassemble the frame.

Measure 200mm from the end of the frame and mark a hole to be

drilled as shown. Project it to the other side again, making sure the

markings are aligned. Pilot drill halfway through with a 6mm bit, one

side at a time, making sure the drilled holes align. Afterwards drill

halfway through with a 32mm bit, again one side at a time.

Finish the wooden beam by sanding the all the surfaces smooth to

prepare it for varnishing. Round off sharp corners (except for the

drilled hole edges)

A minimum of 3 coats of yacht varnish will give an adequate

protection for the wooden frame when the bicycle is stored outdoors

throughout the year.

This drawing shows the placement of the holes. It is a top view,

meaning the holes marked with dashed lines are to be drilled through

from the side and the holes marked with dots are to be drilled from

the top.

The dashed lines are all drilled 10mm. The dots are drilled 8mm,

exept for the ones marked at 75 and 725: these holes are for

mounting the calliper brakes.

The measuring line on the top is for the two long tubing sections and

the measuring line on the side is for the four short sections.

Even furniture grade (at least 1.5mm wall thickness) 25mm tubing is

sufficient for this construction. Metal table frames are often a good

source for such material. Source and cut the necessary lengths: four

600mm, and two 800mm sections.

Each tube should have one perfectly square end. Use a metal file to

square them off. For accuracy, all the measurements should be done

from the square end, so mark it well in each tube.

Mark the tubing as indicated by the measuring lines. Do this identically on

the facing sides of the tubing. Also remembering to take measurements

from the same end. Be careful in getting the marks exactly in the center of

the tubing. Indent the marks with a center punch. It helps to align the drill

bit exactly, without it slipping off. Drill the holes, starting with 4mm and

drill ing larger 2mm at a time. Leave the indicated 10mm holes drilled to

8mm. They will be drilled larger later. Drill one face at a time (facing sides

should be marked identically), not all the way through to ensure that holes

do not go crooked. Take care not to drill the brake mounting holes larger

than 6mm.

Enlargin the 8mm hole, drill the marked 10mm holes in the four short

tubes that only have a single hole in the middle. The short tubes with

three 10mm holes each will be drilled later.

Mark a line through the middle of the fork crown brake hole, ensuring it is

perpendicular to the steerer tube. Do this identically on the opposing faces

of the fork.

Cut the fork legs off approximately 20mm below this line.

Drilling into a curved surface is a bit tricky. Center punch the marked holes

carefully. Align the drill bit against the surface as indicated top right. Drill

first on face at a time, and then afterwards once through the whole tube.

Drill these holes on the sides to 8mm, and the middle hole to 10mm.

Drill the middle holes of the two short pieces marked with a group of three

holes from 8 to 10mm. You will use three of the M10 x 100 bolts for this.

Clamp the fork between the two tubes, align the steerer tube exactly

perpendicular to the tubing, and fastening the 10mm bolt tight.

Next drill once through the 8mm holes in the whole assembly, going

through both of the tubes and the fork. This ensures the alignment is

right. Make sure that the steerer tube does not change alignment. Drill

through the assembly with a 10mm bit next, and bolt the sides.

Assemble the tubing as indicated, but do not bolt yet.

Drill through the pairs of overlapping tubes once to correct any

misalignment in holes. Bolt the prepared tubing together, only lightly

tightening and leaving two corners still unbolted as indicated in the next

step.

Mount the wheel axles through the 10mm holes in the middle. Clamp the

wheels by bolting the corners together. Tighten all bolts lightly.

Square off the assembly by measuring the diagonal length between corner

bolts as indicated. Tilt the assembly to correct the alignment, until both

measurements are identical.

Press the headset bearing cups into the 32mm hole in the frame. The order

of the bearings is changed in this case, so the bottom part of the headset

will now be on the top surface (right) of the wooden beam.

Attach the bicycle frame onto the wooden beam again and mount the front

cart on to the frame.

Tighten the bearings and trim off any extra length in steerer tube to fit on

the locknut.

Use a stem to make the mount for a stabilising strut underneath the cart.

Shorten the stem shaft as shown. There are two ways to make it. Use a cut

shaft as shown on the left to bolt the strut onto, or the stem itself with a

shortened shaft to hold the strut in place.

A large riser handlebar is good for making the stabilising strut. Cut it to

match the width of the cart as shown.

In this example the strut is bolted onto the mount. Align the strut and

mark holes to be drilled in the ends. Drill matching 6mm holes in the cart

frame.

Use the M6 x 70 bolts to secure the strut ends.

Attach brakes.

The box can basically be anything that is sturdy enough and you can

attach some sort of a handlebar to. An easy way is just to bolt a high riser

handlebar off a bmx bike or similar with 3 M6 bolts as shown.

Both brake handles will operate the two front brakes independently.

Altough it takes a bit of getting used to, so that the bike doesn't steer too

much when braking, it is an easy to build solution. Dual cable brake levers

and other mechanisms for splitting one brake lever to control two brakes

simultaneously are possible.

Gear shifters can be mounted in several places, like the seatpost or the

frame, but attaching them to the box may place the cables a bit in the way

of steering.

The rest is just sorting out the brakes and gears, which is pretty much

straightforward bike mehcanics. Enjoy!

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Cargo Bicycle Cost Sheet Produced for Bike Station

Cost sheet for cargo bikes 25/02/12

Frame materials Description Quantity Cost £

Numbers are for toolstation qotes

73604 High Tensile Set Screw M6 x 40 100 3.58






74965 Coach Bolt & Nut M10 x 150 10 2.08

21480 Nylon Lock Nut M6 100 1.98



14652 Heavy Washer M6 100 0.82

91738 Heavy Washer M8 100 1.1

83844 Heavy Washer M10 100 2.08

36mm U-Bolt 1 1

www.kartpartsuk.comM8 x 1.25mm Male Right Hand Rod End Bearing

1 3.42

Simpson Steel25 x 25 x 2.0 Box Section Steel Tubing (one length 7,6m)

1 12.5

Smith & Rodger Glasgow Titebond 3 wood glue 3,8L 1 35.3

iv

http://www.kartpartsuk.com/

Screwfix, 48712 No Nonsense Red Oxide Primer 750ml 1 6.89

Screwfix, 23164 No Nonsense Yacht Varnish 750ml 1 8.49

Angle Iron for 25 x 25 brackets 0

1” Plastic Plugs 100 19.95

Cost for one box bike frame 29.5

Cost for one sociable cargo bike frame 23

Standard Box Materials Description Quantity Cost £

WISA Twin Plywood (Jewson) 2440 x 1220mm sheet 1 30.9

90230 (Toolstation) Garden Furniture Oil Teak (liter) 1 14.82

34919 (Toolstation) Angle Braces 19 x 19mm 10 0.33

12180 (Screwfix) 3,5 x 12 Turbo Gold Wood Screw 200 2.02

14617 (screwfix) 5 x 60 Turbo Gold Wood Screw 100 4.68

Material cost for one standard box £21

New bike parts for sociable cargo bike

4m brake cable cover 1.75

4 x brake cable 1

2,5m shifter cable cover 2.3

2 x shifter cable 0.5

3 8-speed chains 11

iv

Cost total 16.55

New bike parts for box bike

3m brake cable cover 1.32

2 x brake cable 0.5

2,5m shifter cable cover 2.3

2 x shifter cable 0.5

Cost total 4.62

Tools and Consumables Description Quantity Cost £

75018 Cutting fluid 1 3.26

65257 24tpi Hacksaw blades 10 19.06

16851 3mm Cobalt drill bit 2 1.32




21258 32mm wood drill bit 1 5.44

Consumables estimate for one bike 4

Labour estimates for prefabTime taken to fabricate / hrs (by a trained person)

Standard Box (box) 3

iv

Box bike frame preparation 6

Box bike frame assembly 3

Box bike mechanical assembly 2

Sourcing materials 1

Total time 14

Sociable cargo frame preparation 5

Sociable cargo frame assembly 3

Sociable cargo mechanical assy 2

Sourcing materials 1

Total time 11

Total costs for complete bikes Material costs £ Labour hrs Total £

Sociable cargo bike w/ box 60 15 450

Sociable cargo bike without box 39 12

Box bike w/ box 77 14 400

Box bike without box 56 11

Additional options

iv

Steering damper 30

Dual pull brake lever 30

Powder coating 96

Box ordered 60

iv

Worshop Plan Prepared for Bike Station

v

People's Utility Bicycle Project

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Transcript of People's Utility Bicycle Project