(Photos: Industry)
Portlanders will have an opportunity to dwell on the frontier of bicycle design and technology tonight at the Reveal Party for the Oregon Manifest Bike Design Project.
The competition, launched back in March, paired design firms with a bicycle builder in five cities and set them loose to create the “ulimate urban utlity bike.” Tonight is the big night when all five bikes are revealed with events scheduled simultaneously in Portland, San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, and Seattle.
At stake is more than just pride, publicity, and bragging rights: the winning bike (or at least a value-engineered version of it) will be mass-produced by Fuji Bikes.
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Portland’s team of builder Ti Cycles and Industry, a design firm, has worked together for eight months and they’ve come up with something very special. I’ve gotten some sneak peeks but I won’t spill all the beans until Monday. That’s when public voting starts that will decide which of the five bicycles wins the competition.
That being said, I can’t resist a few teasers in advance of tonight’s big party (which starts at 6:00 pm at PNCA on NW Johnson and 13th).
The Portland team’s bike will give its user the most technologically “connected” riding experience ever. Here’s a snip from the Industry/Ticycles press release:
Leveraging advanced manufacturing methods, including titanium 3D printing, this collaboration is defining what’s next in modern cycling. The result is the first connected, 3D-printed titanium lifestyle bike… brings together old and new manufacturing methods – and focuses on the urban Portland lifestyle, as it aims to answer the question: How do we inspire everyday cycling?
And I’ve got the green light to share some behind-the-scenes photos from the design process:
I don’t know about you but the idea of mixing the brainiacs at Ti Cycles with a major design firm and throwing in 3D printing and bunch of high-end electronics is pretty exciting stuff. I will see you there!