BIKE BIKE BIKE BIKE

sjacoby

Here’s some sketches to start things off — I’ve changed my conception a bit, and I wanted to flesh out some thoughts before I started modeling. I’ll be describing these photos pictures after they’re posted. I checked with the authorities, and that’s the righteous thing to do. So heads up.

BikeScan 1

This is a sketch of a possible mount on the back of the rear rack. I’m thinking that coming up with a really secure mount will be an important part of this. I just noticed that a group at Sprout is putting together a relatively large-batch of 1W LCD bike lights — so perhaps this is even more redundant than it already was — but nevertheless, I forge on. Leah just mentioned the Green Wheel project to me, which looks neat — they have done a lot of the environmental sensing that I’ve been thinking about. Honestly, I will probably focus on making (1) a bike light (2) that is controlled from the bars and gives some active feedback.

BikeScan

This is a seat-post mounted scheme that I probably won’t explore at all, because, eh. And it won’t be much good for a turn signal. And there’s a Chinese manufacturer who essentially makes the same product. Oh well, I knew that going into this.

BikeScan 2

With the turn signals — what’s a low-fi easy was of controlling them? I really want to avoid wires and all such brick-a-brack. In my ideal world, there are flexible sensors beneath the tape on the handlebars (perhaps even contributing to the padding), which beam back the couple of feet to the rear. This is a quick design for a FM-receiver — the transmitters would be embedded in the handlebars.

BikeScan 3

Top left: a profile concept. I’m wondering what it’d be like to cast the LEDs inside of translucent silicone. That’d have the bonus of robust water protection, customizable (and cuttable) topography, and light diffusion. Heat dissipation might be an issue. There’ll probably be a lot of issues. Below: taped handlebars where pressure switches will live, beaming back their signals to the rear-mounted light assembly.

BikeScan 4
Just a quick draft of what I’ll be modeling. I’m thinking a flat-backing, cut out of aluminum, probably, with a very sturdy mount. There’d be a detachable battery pack. The basic idea, though, is to make this thing reasonably unsteal-able.

Modeling

I am not great at SolidWorks. Here are some initial mock-ups. Basically, bike lights.

sw_ss

Two: Hey, look! Two!

ss_sw_4

Next Step: Working Electronics Radio switches, pressure buttons in the handlebars, receiver on rear-light end, actual structure. Log accelerometer data.

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