The Shift morphing tricycle bicycle

The Shift bicycle is a kid's training bike with a unique design: its paired back wheels splay outward when the bike is at rest, and are drawn inward by an articulated hub when the bike is in motion, mimicing a single wheel. The device won its American designers Scott Shim, Ryan Lightbody and Matt Grossman, top honors in last month's bicycle design competition held by the Taiwanese government.

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

I'm supprised you didn't comment on the odd shape of the back wheels...
(http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000397039863/)

[Billfred @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

I guess it's true what they say...

Shift happens.

[strider_mt2k @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Round?

[strider_mt2k @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Round?

[Ray @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

"Odd shape"? Those are two separate round wheels.

[Carl @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Wheels are round buddy; read the article for further information on why its weird...;(the camera angle is a little strange thats all)

[hummeriah @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Could be he meant 2-spoke wheels. Maybe they have those where you live. I've never seen a 2-spoke before.

[hummeriah @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Could be he meant 2-spoke wheels. Maybe they have those where you live. I've never seen a 2-spoke before.

[kyle @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

woah attack of the double posters!!

now, on topic:it's a great idea. i ride a bike in town a lot, and find myself doing a lot of trackstands at stoplights and stuff, this would make that a lot easier.
they'd have to make the bike look a lot more normal before i'd buy one, though

[chocotaku @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

If you follow the links to the contest winner's site, you will find alot more bikes that totally reinvent how we should pedal, if that at all. One used a stepping motion instead of pedalling, along with one using a eliptical ski machine system to power the bike. Check them out here @ http://design.runride.com/design/mipis/lybm30dbfa.asp?Page=1&key=winner2004&store=design&frecno=1

[Cambob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP AND DIE!!!!

[TheZodiac @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

How about the bike that lacks a chain? ;-)

source:
http://www.godmode.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5470

Now thats cool :)

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

If you follow the link I referenced you'll see the Sony mouse that everyone was complaining about the shape of becasue of the angle the photo's taken at makes it look odder than it is, just trying to add a little humour...

Am I being too subtle here?

[Wookie @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Being an engineer I am a little more interested in the workings of it.. There are no hand brakes or places to mount the usual pads that you see on mountain bikes and 10-speeds (am I dating myself?).
So this would mean that it's a direct drive or a free-wheeler with a brake by pushing backward.

What about those situations where you get into a really bad spot and need to brake suddenly? So the motion of the back wheel stops, i.e. while it's still in the "single wheel" mode.. I imagine that if you were still a beginner, you would simply fall over.. How safe is that?


I realize that it's a kids bike, but I think it would be a good use for adult sizes as well.. also, I wonder if there is a mechanism to make it a training wheels mode only until Junior or Sally get used to the bike?

//

[tr @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

hey 12., that type of transmission shaft is already in use in a few Biomega bicycles, specifically the Copenhagen and the Amsterdam.

http://www.biomega.dk

i've ridden a Copenhagen recently, and it's a blast. it's a little weird shifting, as you have to pause your pedaling slightly to shift, but it works great. and no chain to dirty your pants!

14., this was a DESIGN competition, not an engineering competition. it's meant to show new ideas in bicycle design, not 'ready for production' bicycle technology. it's the equivalent of concept cars; we may not see the exact concept car on the road, the cars may not even be street legal, but we will see design ideas and technology from the concept trickle down to road-going models in the future.

and actually, no, when you say "10-speed" you aren't dating yourself that much. modern road bikes do have "10-speeds", but now, that means 10 cogs on the rear wheel, with 2 or even 3 chainrings on the crankset, for a total gearing of 20 or 30 "speeds". :)

[Alan Braggins @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

http://www.core77.com/corehome/2005/03/international-bicycle-design_18.html shows it with real wheels, instead of the two-spoke design study. The body isn't quite as sleek either.
What I can't find is pictures of it with the wheels in "bicycle" mode.

[Matt Grossman @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Whoa, our bike is on this site? It's very cool to see the comments! Wookie- you'll be glad to know that a working prototype was built for the Taipei Cycle show, so it was neat to get to ride it around. It also looks a bit more like a 'real bike'. The picture on this site is of a stylized scale model. If you stopped suddenly, then yes you'd probably still fall over- but the wheels weren't intended to stop ALL crashes, just make the whole learning-how-to-balance experience a little less frustrating. I think pictures of the prototype are on http://design.runride.com somewhere.

[BRF @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

I love the idea. This would be wonderful for adults wanting to learn to ride that didn't learn as a child. Will adult sizes be created as well?

[Dan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

"This looks tremendous" says the dad who is trying to wean his 6yr old off of training wheels.

I want to try one of these...anyone know where can I get it?

[e-mail]

thx

[Paul @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Where can I buy one?

[Joe @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

I think this idea is fantastic, regardless of any minor flaws the initial concept has, you can ALWAYS improve on the original. Being an Industrial Engineer myself, I find if you don't try the simple design/or concept first, then you'll never know what to expect later. From there you improve. Good job you guys! Oh yeah, Where can I get one for my Son?

[anna @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

SHIFT TRIKE-BIKE
it is a beautiful design as well as a fabulous idea.
now...................when and where can we buy one?
(2 actually........we have twins)

[peter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Really neat idea but it reminds me of the "all plastic bike" we read about so many times in the 70's. It was light, rugged and would be available cheaply next year. Or the year after.

I'm still waiting...

and chainless (driveshaft) bikes have been around since teh 1880s or 1890s.