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Renault Picnic Zero-Emissions Concept Car Provides Room for Social Gathering

TheFuture — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:26:05 +0000

When people goes for a picnic, a car that can provide room for social gathering parked in an urban landscape is always desirable, which was the main inspiration of designing the Renault Picnic concept car. This car can become an urban furniture, where people can re-acquaint themselves with the surrounding natural environment with its various functionalities. It features LED-impregnated DOL that allows adjustable and customizable tinting patterns that will make the car’s surface a public art. The easy access sliding doors allow convenient entrance. You can attach a bicycle with the rear bumper and can arrange some extra sittings with tailgate rumble seats that slides-out from the front trunk. The Renault Picnic features low-cost and minimalist dashboard with i-pod compatibility which is ideal for new drivers. The modular seating arrangement of this car ensures equal comfort to be enjoyed for all passengers either inside, on atop the rear bumpers or on the front tailgate.

Gabriel says :
The Renault Picnic seeks to augment rather than detract from the health of it’s surrounding environment. It is a Zero-emissions vehicle that provides a social function to the parked car within in the urban landscape. When parked, the Picnic transforms into urban furniture, becoming a social space for people to re-acquaint themselves with the surrounding environment. LED-impregnated, glass-coated polycarbonate windows project customized images when the vehicle is parked, transforming the vehicle into a form of public art.

Further considering the environment, the exterior panels are composed of hemp-based composites, and the vehicle is powered by Lithium Ion batteries and two rear-mounted in-wheel hub motors.

In order to reduce cost, complexity and weight, the simple interior is constructed of modular components, with four identical, soy-foam seats and an i-pod doc replacing most of the functions, including sound system and GPS on the dashboard.

Designer : Gabriel Wartofsky

The Trailblazer, Mercedes Benz Bike

TheFuture — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:44:42 +0000

A new mountain bike is added by Mercedes Benz to its exclusive bike collection, called The Trailblazer. No need question about the materials, all is made with high-quality components and elegant design, perfect for serious off-road riding. The price tag is €2,790, really high in our opinion if you just use it for small ride in a park, but if you have so much money to spend, why not? The Trailblazer features a sophisticated four-link rear suspension that ensures outstanding riding comfort and excellent traction on difficult terrain. Mercedes Benz Trailblazer is available in two edition, sport edition and comfort edition, with a number of parts specially adapted to the different physiques of men and women.

Official Press Release :
With the uncompromisingly high quality of its equipment, its premium craftsmanship and its modern design, the new Mercedes-Benz mountain bike fulfils the high demands of experienced cycling enthusiasts. At its heart is an elegant and functional full-suspension frame with a sophisticated four-link rear suspension. The high-quality aluminium design was developed in collaboration with premium German cycle manufacturer ADP Engineering GmbH, a company renowned for its exclusive, handcrafted Rotwild brand of cycles, who have already proved themselves reliable partners of Mercedes-Benz with other bike designs.

The exclusive Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH range enables customers to further tailor their bikes to their own requirements. The collection contains everything from an electronic bike computer with twelve functions, a practical pannier with a capacity of seven litres and an ultra-light mini-tool for repairs on the road to a handy mini pump, a useful hydration rucksack and a first-aid kit.

Technical data

Frame
Material: Aluminium 7005;
Colour: Sport Edition: anthracite
Comfort Edition: white with red and black elements
Size: Sport Edition: S (47); M (50); L (53)
Comfort Edition: S (45); M (48)

Rear-wheel suspension
Suspension/damping: Rock Shox Monarch 3.1 oil-air suspension strut adjustable rebound and compression stage
Travel: 120 mm

Front-wheel suspension
Fork: Rock Shox Recon 335 with aluminium crown
Suspension/damping: Solo Air/adjustable rebound stage,
Compression stage adjustable up to lockout
Travel: 120 mm

Drive system
Crankset: Truvativ Firex 3.3
Crank length: Sport Edition: S: 170 mm; M/L: 175 mm
Comfort Edition: S/M: 170 mm
Pedals: Wellgo, SPD compatible
Chainrings: Truvativ Alu 44-32-22T SRAM
Inner bearing: Truvativ Firex 3.3 BSA

Shifter
Cassette: Shimano HG 50; 11-32T; 9speed
Shift lever: SRAM X.7 Trigger
Front derailleur: SRAM X.9
Rear derailleur: SRAM X.9 long cage, 9speed

Brakes
System: Avid Juicy 5; 185 mm rotors front/rear

Wheels
Hubs front: H 220D
Hubs rear: H 400D
Spokes: DT Comp 2.0/1.8
Rims: DT SWISS X430 Disc 26″
Tyres: ContinentalMountainKing Falt; 26 x 2.20″

Removable parts
Stem: S 140
Sport Edition: S 75 mm; M 90 mm; L 115 mm
Comfort Edition: S 60 mm; M 75 mm
Handlebars: B 240
Sport Edition: 640 mm
Comfort Edition: 600 mm
Grips: Sport Edition: VeloLight
Comfort Edition: Ergon GP1
Saddle: Topeak Allay Racing
Saddle post: P 260; 31.6 x 350 mm

Weight
without attachments: approx. 13.5 kg

Designer : Mercedes Benz via BenzInsider

Porsche Design Gravity Car by 3dyn

TheFuture — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:00:07 +0000

This gravity car is designed by Mark Clarke (Senior Designer at Porsche Design) and 3dyn brought the car into reality. 3dyn took their surface data to create high density foam master models, high temperature fiberglass molds, and finally pre-preg carbon fiber body shells. The cars are fully functional, with high-performance downhill mountain bike disc brake systems, rack and pinon steering (with carbon fiber, F1 style steering) and 4-point safety harness. Short of the purchased bicycle components and formed clear canopies, 3dyn created all components in house, the majority being either carbon fiber or aircraft aluminum.

Too bad they won’t make any gravity car for 2008, as it’s stated on their website :
“3dyn will not participate for 2008, as new commitments have precluded us from being able to build another 10+ cars this year. However we may still assist in the design process, if needed. 2008 should be “electrifying” for Zero E Racing.”

Designer : Mark Clarke via 3dyn

Traveling with Your Bike ? Use Suitcase Bike

TheFuture — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 14:59:04 +0000

Story behind this suitcase bike from the designer Gosha Galitsky : Being a big bicycle enthusiast, it always bothered me to see how little cooperation exists between public transport and bicycles. It seems to be a perfect solution for commuting- an alliance between safe intercity transport (such as trains, buses and airplanes) and short-range non polluting bicycles which can zip you through the congested city like a breeze and park in your room or your cubicle at work.However, I only saw this harmony take place in some places in Europe (Italy is especially biker- friendly) and in some areas of the US, mostly on the west coast. All this in spite of rising awareness for environmental issues, growing congestion within city limits and an immense growth in the popularity of cycling for commuting as well as for sport. So I tried to find what was preventing this alliance from happening. After a certain observation and research, I discovered some interesting things.

Bearing those discoveries in mind, Gosha Galitsky set to design a bicycle which will operate seamlessly with public transport. It might not fold to the smallest possible size as other bikes of the same nature do, but when it is folded, there are no sticking-out wheels, sprockets or cables that can get entangled with other passengers and make them dirty. The delicate (and greasy) components are all enclosed inside the suitcase-like body of the bicycle, forming a neat rectangular package that can fit easily between your legs when you ride the subway or on the luggage rack in the train. You can even lock it in place so you can snooze through your commute without worrying about the bike being stolen. When you get off and need to get out of the station, the bike can be easily dollied along using the small front wheel. And when it is unfolded, you can ride it just like any other bicycle.

Designer : Gosha Galitsky