EXPANDABLE ELECTRIC BICYCLE

This project started as an exploration into reanimating electronic waste as affordable micro mobility. Specifically the waste from electric ride sharing scooters. In pursuit of a lifelong bond between a rider and their vehicle, I designed an expanding bike frame for kids. This frame can also be retrofitted with a motor and modular battery sourced from retired ride sharing scooters.

Research

Electric vehicles combat carbon emissions, but are extremely wasteful.

I am reanimating waste as affordable micro-mobility.

The current trend of ride-sharing scooters is to manufacture as many as possible for as cheaply as possible. Then users only have short experiences with the vehicle, which typically includes abuse of the scooter or injury of the rider. The scooters are also not designed with repairability in mind, especially due to the lithium battery that can not be replaced. Due to this, these scooters have an average lifespan of only 3 months, some as short as 28 days. Even as companies create more robust models, they have no plan for responsibly disposing of these scooters regardless of how long their life is.

I propose disrupting this linear production model with a product that utilizes a more circular economy. These retired ride sharing scooters provide an urban mine for resources that could be reanimated in new micro-mobility.

Fabrication

GOALS:

  • Lifetime relationship with product

  • Sustainably sourced components

  • Custom riding experience

  • Affordable

I used the ShopBot Buddy CNC Router to cut my frame pieces from a sheet of plywood. I then used a flush-trim bit and a round-over bit on the table router to finish the edges.

Painting Hardware

Nail Polish is more durable and resistant to stripping when tightening the bolts into the frame

Assembly

REDESIGN

GOALS:

  • Headset to allow for turning

  • Ridable bike model

  • Fewer pieces/more lightweight

  • Less hardware

  • Wider range of adjustment

  • Battery model

Sketching over Solidworks drawings allows me to keep vital dimensions accurate while I work on the frame shape. It also makes it easier to see where pieces will overlap once the bike expands.

Sketching/Modeling Frame

When I get stuck during the iteration process I switch design tools. Sketching allows me to be more expressive, Solidworks helps to constrain dimensions, and rapid physical model prototyping checks the reality of the design’s construction.

Sketching/Modeling Headset

Fabrication/Assembly

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