BICYCLE DESIGN PROJECT 1

Name

Institution

Instructor

Title
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Introduction

There exists a variety of bicycle types in the current environment. These include but not

limited to mountain bikes, racing bikes and ordinary on street-cycle bicycles. Despite the variety,

these bicycles play a common role of transportation and porterage of humans from one point to

the other in the society. In a historical look, the development and utilization of bicycles in the

modern world can be dated back to the 19th century (Dowell, 2001). Even during this period in

time, bicycle use was identified as one of the most economical forms of transport. Since then,

these modes of transport have progressively evolved through cascades of development to more

effective forms of the gadget. With the introduction of spoked wheels, chain drives that link the

main crank to the rear wheel/ wheels and the pedal system, and other extensions, the bicycle

gained massive popularity in the field of technology in the last segment of the 19th century

(Dowell, 2001). In the beginning of the 20th century, bicycle use actually declined at very high

rates especially with the invention of automobile designing technology in the engineering sector.

On another perspective too, there was a perception that the automobile industry had

become quite cheaper and reliable as facilitated by the introduction of cheaper construction

frames in the automobile sector (Dowell, 2001). This was also facilitated by the ability by a

number of engineers to develop stronger and much automated gear systems. However, with the

increasing rates of owning the automobiles in the previous and current trends, the bicycle has

been branded the most convenient, cheaper and quite reliable means of transport in the world

economy. This has been a success due to the low maintenance costs incurred with the use of the

bicycle and minimum expertise requirements for the development and use of the machine.

Currently, the engineering department has embraced the development of much faster, lighter and
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much easy to handle forms of simple transport. In a broader perspective, this has helped solve the

problem of the using automobiles due to the high costs of gas as well as maintenance.

The aim of this project was the design of an economically sustainable and

environmentally friendly bicycle. This design was aimed at making the following aims

achievable.

 To reconcile the present and future economic development in towns and improve the

value of life in terms of quality and protection of the environment

 To develop more coherent lifestyles that are less dependent on other automobiles such as

motorbikes and cars

 To establish much more clean and reliable means of transport and commuting

 To utilize and abide by the environmental protection policies in the nation

 To establish close contacts to reducing the costs incurred by the users as well as the

government in purchase of fuel and gas

 To make the bicycle easily accessible to all members of the public at affordable prices

In effort to achieve the above aims, we designed an electric bicycle for institutional use by

the student body. This bicycle does not really cause harm to the established clean

environment as it does not use any form of fuel. With regard to traffic jams, the design was to

make easy maneuvering in the road thus prospected to be the best in terms of local and short

distance travels. Therefore, we have prospects that this is going to be the best form of

transport by most of the students in this university as well as other institutions.

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Problem statement

A number of available bicycle types have limitations that make them difficult to use.

These bicycles are mainly made of relatively heavy frames and low gear efficiency in the gear

system. These in other terms cause a lot of strain while peddling and as a result, it leads to faster

fatigue and exhaustion of the rider. On another perspective too, there has been an increased

number of purchases in the motor industry. This has led to numerous numbers of cars in the

country as a result; it has overwhelmed the road network. In return, traffic jams and snarl-ups

have been a common problem in our towns as much as they can be short lived. This is

prospected to be a common public concern in future of course with the annually improving

economy of the country. Many of the people do not like associating themselves with noise from

vehicles and strict driving rules imposed by the government thus need an alternative form of

transport.

Therefore, with regard to this, we came up with a bicycle design project with aims of

making adequate solutions to the impending challenges as well as the current transport problems.

This was also established to aim the less fortunate with the incapability to purchase automobiles.

Consequently, there are a number of issues regarding environmental pollution from the

automobiles in road transport. Therefore, in this project, we aimed at providing reliable solutions

towards conserving the environment through the development of affordable and non-pollutant

form of transport. This bicycle was prospected to be useful in all aspects including luggage

transport, human transport as well as small deliveries. As a form of transport, the project aimed

at making the bicycle quite affordable to students in all categories. It has been known for a while

that there are increased costs associated with the use of fares by students daily to facilitate their
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commuting from their residences to the respective institutions. Being much reliable, the project

prospected at making it usable even by children of eight years old.

Design requirements

The bicycle of concern in this case was an electric bicycle. This is a hybrid form of the

simple machine with convenience similar to that of the car. This design is not just to improve the

speed of travelling but to make the reliability of the bicycle to the users’ convenience.

This bicycle was termed as an eco-bike meaning that the technology of developing the

car is based on environment protection. In this aspect, it meant that the chances of pollution were

to be minimized. The bicycle design was identified as being very simple and less material

demanding. It was to be quite reliable with costs similar to the normal kind. In this design, the

following requirements were identified.

i. The bicycle had to me comprised of a strong and break-through proof lock on the power

button as well as the wheel lock system.

ii. This bicycle was designed to comprise of a rear parking light and a front head light. All

powered by a dynamo to avoid using the battery.

iii. This design had a small fit-in battery with high voltage that could be used to steer the

wheels. This battery was identified as a lithium-ion battery.

iv. A power controller fixed in close proximity to the battery

v. It was also to have the routine pedals that could be used in case the battery fails in the

middle of the journey.

vi. A small electric engine that could convert the electrical energy to kinetic energy upon

switching the small machine on. This was then to steer the bicycle.
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vii. This bike had a small luggage pack that could be converted to a small seat in case the

bicycle was to be used for human transport.

viii. Had some buttons for breaking. They were identified as power-break buttons.

Specifications for the design

Most of the bicycle specifications in the previous model were the greatest prompters of the

model that we designed. In this model, the general specifications identified the middle two bars

as the hostages of the battery and the mortar. However with the demand of making a much better

structure with a thousand fold efficiency, our design had to take a different direction. In brief,

the power source for the project was identified as a DC battery, Lithium-ion battery which was to

give an overall output of 48 V. Lithium ion cells were much more prioritized to other batteries.

This was because these batteries do offer a great energy volume despite their small and compact

sizes in reality. These batteries have fixed forms of diodes that regulate the output. The battery

power was also identified to be from an alternating source in which this gadget could be charged

from. The charger identified for this design had a capability to conduct a two stage charge

capability of the battery i.e. the float mode which is safe charging and the boost mode especially

in emergencies. The specifications of this battery included an operating range of 170 Volts of

Alternating Current and 300 Volts of Alternating current. This charger was integrated with the

capability to protect reverse polarity effects and could effectively charge a battery of 48V.
BICYCLE DESIGN PROJECT 7

Figure 1: Charger for the designed electric bike

The design was integrated with a controller block. This was a small chip that was used to

control the volume of power to the motor. This controller had regenerative breaking capability

thus the breaking had a preset function of aiding in breaking. Regenerative breaking involves

recovery of energy via mechanisms which lead to reduction of the speed of this bicycle through

conversion of the kinetic energy to some other form of useful energy like electrical energy for

storage rather than losing it in form of heat to the breaking system. The controller was designed

to re-supply the energy back to the source alongside allowing a bidirectional form of flow of the

energy between the associated gadgets. This controller was designed to use the installed motor
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system as a generator for power to be used in pedaling. The controller was a 36V input

demanding one with an output control of 250W.

Figure 2: Bicycle power controller

The safety lock was made of simple key ignition switch system. This lock was to have

unique access systems that could even involve secret ignition points well known to each

individual. As well, the traditional lock system was to be integrated in this bicycle. This lock is

the normally identified lock system that uses a key in order to unlock it. It is a prototype of the

normal padlock.
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Figure 3: Electric power Lock

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Figure 4: Routine Bicycle lock

The head lamps that were used in this design had a maximum of 20 Watts in consupti3on

but of course with a clear night vision capability. The rear parking lights needed a lower power

rating bulb thus the total amount of expected power use in lighting was put at about 25 watts.

The cables to be used in serving these lamps were thick in order to minimize resistance and

power losses.

The design involved the use of rubber covered pedals just like the other bicycles in the

current market. The use of rubber allowed for strong grip with the cycler’s feet to avoid misses

which can as well result to accidents. The pedal system was to be independent of power supply

and as a means of complementing the electric system upon failure, rear pitch were 0.0264 m.

A fly wheel was also incorporated in this design. The fly wheel had a connection to the

shaft. Bearings were incorporated in this design and the crank wheel had an external diameter of

0.7m and an internal one of 0.5m.

Constraints in the design

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The major constraints of this design included but not limited to the following:

Energy

The main factor of concern is electricity widespread capability in these regions. The main

setback of this kind of bicycle needs that one has a reliable source of energy for recharging the

cells. However, in an improvement of this bicycle, there will be a self-recharging one with an

incorporation of the dynamo (Morchin & Oman, n.d.).

Weight of the bicycle

The batteries in this design will make the bicycle too heavy especially with the Li-ion

batteries. In association with other gadgets, the bicycle is a bit heavy to some of the users

(Morchin & Oman, n.d.).

Costs of production

The cost of producing these bicycles was expected to be higher than the regular designs.

The bicycle was deemed to be very effective. As materials in need were much expensive as a

result, the bicycle had to be very much tasking in the construction process (Morchin & Oman,

n.d.).

Battery life

The durability of this bicycle is dependent on the maintenance practices by the user. The

durability of these batteries will be a factor of concern. The more the bicycle will be used will

define the length the batteries will last. Overcharging of the batteries may also limit their shelf

life.
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There is difficulty in the maintenance of the batteries especially when the users are

ignorant on the use and the storage points (Morchin & Oman, n.d.).
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QFD tool for the design

Created by Trial Version

Distortion and Assembly

Technica improvements
General perfomance

Maximum Distance
Customer weights

Dimensions

Materials
Customer

Weight
Requirements

Reliability
Name 4 8 4 1
Efficiency
Name 8 2

Cost
Name 4 1 8 4
Topic

Topic

Topic

Topic
Topic

Topic

Topic

Topic

Ease ofName
Maintenance Created 8by Trial Version
4 4
Requirement of
Attractiveness
Name 8 8 4 5
the design
Requirement
Name
Size 4 4 6
Requirement
Customer
Namefit 4 8 4 7
Requirement
Name
Availability of service 4 8 8 8 8

Requirement
Column Number 1 2 4 4 5 6 7 8

Requirement
Column Weight 72 64 64 40 80 85 124 84
11. 10. 10. 6.5 13. 13. 20. 13.
Requirement
Importance
7% 4% 4% % 1% 4% 2% 7%
Requirement Created by Trial Version

Relationship

Strong 8

Medium 4

Weak 1
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Concept ideas for the design

Design 1

The bicycle in this design was identified to take three main forms. The first design was limited to

the placement of the batteries in the rear compartment and the rotor chain linked to the rear

wheel. The battery/ batteries are placed on either sides of the back chair and then fastened. This

position offers the best of the control as there is full placement of the controllers as well as the

other required gadgets. In this case, the motor is placed in between the middle frames and the

switch board and the control panel placed in the fore- parts.

Design 2

In this design, the battery is placed between the middle frames. The design is quite efficient as

the rider has the opportunity to place another seat on the rear. The battery is placed to the upper

part near the joints of the head of the bicycle. In this design, the motor the motor is placed just

below the battery compartment and then linked to the chain. The chain links the main shaft to the

gear system in the motor. On the control board, the buttons are placed on the right arm of the

bicycle.
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Control buttons

Design 3

Battery

Motor

Pedal chain
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In this design the batteries have a close proximity wit the motor and the shaft. The design is a

special one in which there are two chains. One chain connects the motor to the shaft of the rear

wheel while the pedal chain is located in the normal point just like the regular bike.

Design three

This is the most sophisticated design of the bicycle in which the batteries are not identified in

location especially for somebody new. In the design, the batteries are placed on the upper frame

and then wired connections are made to the motor. The motor is placed in the pedal position. In

this design, a single chain is used to link to the shaft in the rear wheels. The design as well has

got a number of special units in the control system. This is because of the sophistication in the

design. In the design, the batteries used need to be very compatible with a slim shape. This helps

the user to easily fit in between the bicycle frames with esteemed comfort.

Battery

Chain

Motor

Pedals
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Pugh matrix

CRITERIA Current Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3

Solution
Feasibility 5 1 1 1
Long term 4 -1 -1 0
benefits
Maintainability 1 0 -1 1
Durability 3 0 0 -1
Availability of 2 1 o -1
resources
Sum of all 7 5 6
positives
Sum of all 4 5 5
negatives
Sum of all 0 0 0
neutrals
Total 3 0 1

In this matrix, the feasibility of the function of this design was based on the activity of the

prospected outcome. It is believed that this design will be most effective as compared with the

current alternatives. The benefits accrue as per this design will be higher as it will be quite

efficient in terms of energy requirements. The durability is expected to be good especially if the

users are going to be smart with the maintenance practices in place. As well, the resources in

concern are a little bit limited but are available as scrap that can be improved and polished.
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Architectural step

The architectural model involved assembly of the identified parts to make an overall structure of

a bicycle. In this structure, the mortar was placed in the position of the pedals and then a chain

linked to the shaft of the rear wheel. The battery was fitted in the position of the shaft

Architectural design

The design involved the integration of the electric motor system in the pedal system. The

manual/ routine pedal system made the core hosts of the electric motor. The motor was then

incorporated in the bicycle at the joints in the connection of the frames.

Power cables from the

battery to the mortar

Gear system in which the chain

anchors

Figure 5: The interior design of the motor implemented

This motor is designed to rotate the gears attached to it on the outer part. In turn the chain is

rotated to make the shaft in the rear wheel to rotate as well.

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Chain

Pedal

Gear systems in the pedal system

The gears in this system are basically two. The larger gear in the system is the one linked to the

pedal. This is the same gear that has been connected to the motor in this point as well. On

rotating the gears interlink with the chain system to rotate the other smaller gear that links the

entire system to the final shaft in the rear wheel.

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Electronics Motor

Power source from

Magnet: Employs technology of
the battery
Magnetic effect of an electric current

Figure 6: Rear steering shaft of the designed bicycle

The shaft and the motor were assembled to make a complete set of the engine. During the

assembly, the basics like the essential pads were also put in place alongside the the chain. The

figure in the design below was a complete amalgam of the shaft and the motor gears.

Figure 7: The assembled motor in the system

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Shaft on the rear wheel

Motor

Pedal

Chain
Battery on the front seat frame

Figure 8: A complete assembled form of the motor and the shaft

Front wheel attachment Rear wheel

point attachment
point

Pedal and motor position

Figure 9: Final outlook of the main frame of the bicycle

The process should include the basic tools that will offer sufficient activity in turn. As an ethical

requirement in ethics, the architectural step should make more of the sketch work rather than the

actual involvement.
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Embodiment step

In this step, the variations in the shapes of the initial design factors were made into a

single amalgamation of the bicycle. The architecture of the bicycle was assembled to make a

simple well-structured design.

Figure 10: Frame joint additions/ compliments

In the embodiment design, the tubing both short and long was joined to make the frame

in the final selection of the design. The frames that were formed were then joined with the arm

frames and the seat incorporated. The ascending frame was the one fitted with the seat and pedal

system. It was the same that the battery was strained and the holder of the mortar on the lower

end. Therefore, the frame was much stronger than the rest and the overall size was thicker.

As an ethical requirement, the embodiment step needs to have high priority as it is associated

with the strengthening of the entire design. In this case, there should be minimum copying and

integrating of other people’s work without prior authorization from the responsible bodies.
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The main ascending frame with

battery fitting on the middle position

Motor and pedal system

Figure 11: An embodiment of the final design

Figure 12: An extended view of the shaft of the bicycle designed

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Parametric design

1. The problem

The problem as per the design lies in the overall usability of the product. In this design

too, the customers need to be satisfied with the efficiency of the batteries in order to

avoid mid-journey embarrassments. The variability of the bicycles was also identified as

a challenge to fit many of the motors and batteries in a single frame.

2. Alternative designs

Due to the common tendency of any electrical or mechanical system’s capability

to fail, the design was made to have the peddling capability as the main alternative. As

well a small compartment of a lower power battery is to be incorporated in the design to

cater for the needs of emergency.

The design had to contain basically simple iron as the frame metal. To avoid

corrosion, the metal was painted with shiny silver amalgams with darker blends in order

to avoid rusting. Other metals could be used such as steel especially in designing the

main frame of the bicycle which needed to be very strong due to the numerous loads

vested on it.

For smaller bikes, the image drawn from the outlook gave a solution to the

appearance as having the battery placed at the position of the back seat and the book rack

or rather the luggage rack be placed in front near the arm frame.

3. Performance of the alternatives

The tools in presence had to be identified before placing the actual engagement in

the design. As per this, the major concern was on the metalwork of need in building the
BICYCLE DESIGN PROJECT 25

frames. Concerning the efficiency of the batteries, a rather more clear form of calculation

to determine the best accumulator was used. For current drawing, P=VI. Where the

current is denoted by I, Power denoted by P and V is voltage. From this, the current

drawn will depend on the voltage contained in a fully charged battery as well as the

power rating of that battery. A higher rating in amperes per hour drawn was considered.

The back-up battery had to be stronger to make it for some kilometers before the

user finds the next available alternative.

4. Optimization

The full length of the bicycle could be a maximum of 1.5 meters and the radius was not

to exceed 30cm. In the design too, the middle frame could be excluded as per the needs

of the customer and preferences. The smaller design was to be specially designed for

younger and short individuals.

Limitations

There exist issues in designing the main frame and incorporating the standard batteries in

the whole system as well as the motor especially with the lower kind of bicycle. The bicycle with

batteries mounted on the rear seat may not be quite stable in balance like the regular design.

Final design concept

The ultimate part in the design of the bicycle is making all the amalgamations in place and

setting the bicycle onto test. The below drawings are the basic final outlooks in the design.
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Figure 13: Final design model 1

The battery and the motor are

located on the main frame that links
the rear part and the front part of
the bicycle

Figure 14: Final design model 2

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The models above are similar in design only differntiated by the horizontal frame. This is

basically to make a distinction for the different clients who could wish to prefer one to the other.

In some cases, as per the request of the client, this frame could be excluded.

Ethical issues in the design of the bicycle

I. Conceptual Design step

This design step involves Definition of the problem, information gathering,

generation of the concept, and evaluation and selection of the concept.

Ethical issues involved include:

 The design process should be entirely conceptualized as a social process and not

just a personal one. This should be open for the outsiders not in the project to

suggest, argue or challenge the designers as this leads to the improvement of the

final design.

 The different engineers in the project should not engage in conceptualization of

ideas that will lead to exploitation of the junior workers in terms of labor

requirements and time.

 In this step, the designers are only limited to borrow ideas from patents, journals

and other sources and provide original information that does not lead to the piracy

of other people’s project work.

II. Embodiment Design Step

This step involves architectural design, configuration design, parametric design as well as

detailed design.

The ethical issues involved include:

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 Negligence: The designers should not build the bicycle with associated negligence

on its durability based on the prospected profits they will attain. They should not

be negligent on the effects the people users will be facing in the long run with the

design.

 The designers should not engage in multiple contracts with members who offer

similar supplies. This involves being consistent with a single supplier for a given

bicycle appendage to maximize the efficiency of the bicycle.

 The designers should limit themselves from incorporation of fake and weak

material in the design all with aims of having advantage over the users as this

bridges the ethical requirements of the engineering board.

 The quality of the bicycle outlined in the conceptual design should be maintained

in all aspects of continued production.