The Wooden "Sandwichbike" Bicycle from PedalFactory

The Sandwichbike from The Pedalfactory

The Pedalfactory is an Amsterdam-based design firm with a mission to design and sell unique bicycles. This new offering, the wooden-framed "Sandwichbike," is certainly that.

The Sandwichbike is the brainchild of industrial designer Basten Leijh of Bleijh Industrial Design Studio. Basten designed and built the first Sandwichbike concept as an entry in the 2006 International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC), an annual industry event held in Taiwan.

Sandwichbike Packed for Shipment

The bike's frame is constructed from two flat plates of beech plywood tied together by machined aluminum tubes. The forks are also beech plywood. The design of the bike allows it to be shipped flat in a box, complete with all components and the tools required for assembly by the buyer at home.

The Pedalfactory has created a website specifically for the Sandwichbike. Buyers can order a bike online.  The first production run began shipping in Europe this month; international shipping will commence in January.

Tip of the hat to Dezeen blog, which featured the Sandwichbike in a post this month.

Crowdfunding the Local Motors "Cruiser" Bicycle

Local Motors Cruiser Bicycle, Gas and Electric Models

Local Motors has kicked-off a crowdfunding effort for their Cruiser bicycle, which will be available in gas (pictured on the left) and electric models (pictured on the right). The project funding goal is $50,000, and has about a month left to go at this writing.

The Cruiser is a product of the Local Motors "Cruiser Design Challenge." The winning design was created by Ianis Vasilatos, a member of the Local Motors design community. Ianis's day job is production manager at the Queen Mary Theater in Oradea, Romania. Outside the theater, he is an aspiring vehicle designer. You can see his Coroflot portfolio here.

Note the V-shaped configuration of the battery packs in the electric model, which gives the bicycle the look of an early 20th Century Harley or Indian boardtracker.

While you're at it, check out the other projects, cars and motorcycles, at the Local Motors website.

Vanilla Bicycles, Handcrafted in Portland

Vanilla Bicycles "Randonee" Model

The folks at Vanilla Bicycles in Portland, OR described themselves as a collaborative community of framebuilders, painters, wood, leather and metal workers, and photographers. At the center of this community is owner, designer, framebuilder Sacha White, who's been building bicycles since 1999.

Check out their elegant handcrafted bicycles, which are constructed with high-tech steel tubing silver-soldered, for strength, to beautiful Henry James investment-cast lugs.

Also check out the larger community of bike builders, craftsmen, artisans, and racers that the crew at Vanilla works and socializes with at their Community page. You will see there an ethic of collaboration and sharing that is very much a part of the culture of Portland's creatives, which is celebrated in Charles Heying's book, Brew to Bikes (see the Amazon link to below).

Also check out the bicycling apparel and bicycle-themed t-shirts and hats that feature their stylish logo at the Vanilla online boutique.

Bamboo Bikes from Panda Bicycles

"The One" Bicycle from Panda

A friend of mine just sent me a link to the website of Panda Bicycles of Fort Collins, CO. The designer-builders at Panda use bamboo frame sections joined by steel lugs. The bamboo is claimed to provide a more "supple and responsive ride" than that provided by an all-metal frame:

Using bamboo as the primary building material results in a super strong, ultra durable frame that provides style and comfort unlike any other frame material.

The founding team opened shop in picturesque downtown Fort Collins in 2009. The model you see to the left, "The One," a single-speed "fixie" commuter, was the first model out the door. It has currently been joined by three more models, including "The Action," a nine-speed city bike with vintage English styling.

For those who want to choose their own components, Panda also sells the frames alone. They also sell their own line of bicycle-centric apparel for men, women, and children.

Check out the Panda blog here.

State Bicycle Company

State Bicycle "Midas" Model

I've seen a lot of Web ads for State Bicycle Co. lately. They focus on the design and manufacturing of their own line of elegantly styled fixed-gear bikes for sale at low prices. I love their clean and colorful good looks.

State Bicycle is located in Tempe, AZ. You can look for your nearest dealer here. Of, you can be online from Amazon services, see our product links below.



      

Felt Bicycles "Slater"

Felt Bicycles "Slater"

A few weeks ago I was walking around the Saturday Market in downtown Hillsboro and caught sight of a really cool, stylish bicycle on display outside the new Hillsboro Bike Company shop at the corner of Main and Second. It really caught my attention, so I veered hard to my right to get close enough to look it over and read its pinstriped logo... "Felt Bicycles." I'd never heard of them.

Joker Machine's Motorized Slater

A few days ago I encountered the brand again in an article in the latest Cafe Racer magazine... some guy from Joker Machine, the motorcycle aftermarket accessories company, put a 160cc Honda utility gas engine in the frame of a Felt Slater model bicycle. Looked really cool, what with the springer forks and fat black tires front and back... you can see a photo gallery of it here, shot at Willow Springs Raceway in SoCal. So, I finally have gotten around to looking them up on the net and thought I'd post a link to the Slater at Felt and the motorized version at Joker Machine for your enjoyment.



       

Contes Engineering "Athos" Quad Bike

Contes Engineering "Athos" Quad Bike

We went into downtown Hillsboro the other day for  Saturday Market and saw one of these babies, the Contes Engineering Athos, in the window of the new Hillsboro Bike Company shop that just opened at the corner of Main St. and 2nd Ave. Stepped inside for a closer look and was really impressed with the tech and the apparent quality of the workmanship... four-wheel independent suspension with 8" travel, disk brakes front and back, and Contes Engineering's differential with constant-velocity (CV) drive joints.

The Athos is engineered for street and dirt. 

The Contes website indicates that both their CV joints and differentials will be made available on the market for DIY builders. Contes also offers a consulting engineering service to product developers, with a focus on cycling, though they say they've also done automotive work and automation for semiconductor manufacturing.

Check out the video of the Athos in action below.

Budnitz Titanium Bicycles

Budnitz No. 2 Titanium

Paul Budnitz is an American original with a heck of a life story... a man of many talents: computer programmer, artist, photographer, author, clothing and footwear designer, toy designer at Kidrobot, filmmaker, and a successful entrepreneur who's founded a dozen companies in the arena of art and technology.

Paul started designing and building his own bikes in 2006.  By the time 2010 rolled around, people were stopping him in the street to ask where they could buy one. Some even asked if they could buy it from him on the spot, so with all that encouragement he founded Budnitz Bicycles in 2011 to bring his designs to market.

These bikes were born of Budnitz's desire to design and build bicycles that he would love and value... quality, durability, easy and comfortable to ride, and beautiful, too. He ended up with a bicycle he loved and rode so much that he sold his car.

To get lasting quality and durability, Budnitz bikes are constructed from titanium, stainless steel, and cro-moly. Only top-end components are used, many hand built by boutique suppliers of racing bicycle parts.

Budnitz Bicycles are expensive... $3,000 and more. But they are built to last a lifetime and more, and meant to be valued for their utility and beauty. Here are some thoughts on that subject from his Budnitz Bicycles blog:


A very good bicycle fits your body.  The geometry is well thought-out so it’s comfortable, you don’t feel like you’re going to fall off when you pedal.   It doesn’t creak or rattle.  A very good bicycle is beautiful, and it makes you feel beautiful.  It’s an extension of your body, just as the car is an extension of your body when you drive.  And a very good bicycle will last a very long time, maybe your whole life.

Check 'em out here.

    

Renovo Bicycles, Constructed from Hardwood!

Renovo "Badash" Hardwood Mountain Bike

Renovo Bicycles of Portland, OR is building bicycles from engineered hardwoods, even a mountain bike... amazing.

Ken Wheeler and his son Stuart developed these groundbreaking wooden wonders, even though neither one of them is a trained carpenter or woodworker. The closest either one ever got to that was some time in high school woodshop classes. Ken previously worked with composite materials as the designer of the Wheeler Express four-seat composite aircraft.

Renovo now has a versatile lineup of eight proven models on the market, ranging from road bikes, a daily commuter, a mountain bike, and a triathlon competition bike. Their bikes have enjoyed an excellent reception on the domestic and global markets... they are shipped around the world. For example, see this review from a New Zealand bicycle mag. They have just announced a collaboration with Audi, the German automaker, to produce three models to be labeled and marketed by Audi.

core77 Design Blog & Website

Jeff Tiedeken's "Gravity Bike" featured at core77

core77 is a popular, long-running site dedicated to the needs and interests of industrial and graphics designers. If you are an industrial designer or graphics designer, definitely bookmark this site, and check in  on their blog from time to time... lots of useful information there about industry events, design schools, and job openings. Lots of feature articles and blog posts about cool products and concepts from around the world.

A core77 blog post about this very minimalist downhill street bike by California aerospace welder and craftsman, Jeff Tiedeken really caught our eye. It's a coaster in the real sense of the word... no crank and gear set, strictly gravity-powered! While you're at it, check out Jeff's blog about his adventures in design and fabrication, Monkey Likes Shiny.

Update:  We just did another design-related post feature the Derestricted website and blog. Some really great content there.