Saturday, April 3, 2010

Furious Sports Bicycle by Nenad Kostadinov

It’s a bit refreshing to see an industrial designer develop a bike concept that doesn’t fold. As cyclists ourselves, we don’t quite like folding bikes. The speed/weight losses are just too great to make up for the fact that they can fold in half. The Furious Sports Bicycle by Nenad Kostadinov appears to be focused on performance, yet adding a bit of futurism in design. The frame of the Furious bike is thin and aerodynamic, with the thickness to support the weight of its rider. The black fork may suggest a carbon fiber build, and the disk brakes and triangle mags are clearly apparent. This multi-speed bike also features an on-board computer, showing speed and route information on a display between the flat handlebars. Nice concept, Nenad. Our only criticism is that the seat appears to be less-than-comfortable.
This is an interesting looking design. The designer might have looked a little more closely at the physics of how steering works in two wheeled vehicles and, in particular, the need for the contact patch of the front tire to be behind the steering axis. Put simply, this bicycle would be impossible or miserable to ride. So… cool sculpture, but unworkable as a bicycle.


Fascinating concept… but it has resulted in an imaginary design with little chance for reality. Alex is totally correct–the steering axis needs to be on top of the contact patch of the front wheel. Bicycle designers determined that years ago. Had there been further optimization by shifting it, they would have done so. I believe the design is more for aesthetics than functionality.

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