Related Posts
05/09/08: Bicycle load rack to made at the spot
Hello, WorldBikers!
Just found your website and forum. Reason to ask your attention and ask for comments on the contraption I created for Demotech. I published the idea and pictures of "The Load Rack To Be Made At The Spor" at Demotech's website
http://www.demotech.org/d-design/designA.php?d=6
You conplain that donated bikes are unsuitable for large loads. Yes, I agree, but it will take you a very short time and only some sticks and rope to change the little lady's bike into a strong carrier.
02/16/08: Bike design comments
I am an experienced bike-user....it seems to me that the World Bike design would be more effective with ATB (commonly known as "mountain bike") wheels. Wheels that size are stronger, have lower axles and use wider tires. The wider tires (not necessarily knobby) work better in soft materials but are also fine on pavement and absorb more shock on rough surfaces. I know you have many other considerations that I may not be aware of, but I could not help but wonder this upon viewing the project.
06/03/07: What is Open Source Bicycle Design?
You’ve heard of open-source software design, but what does it mean to apply the term ‘open-source’ to a physical product like a bicycle?
Here are some commonalities we share with open-source software communities:
- Geographically distributed participants working towards a common goal.
- A good cause. Whether it be breaking the monopoly of Microsoft operating systems, or improving the transportation and income-generating abilities of families in developing countries, the best open-source communities have a good cause that rallies participants to give their time to the group effort.
- Participants can use the community’s shared knowledge (source code) to accomplish a specific goal or project, then contribute their refinements back to the community.
- Knowledge is free for the download.
In a field like bicycle design, open-source design may seem a little awkward at first – how exactly do you download a bicycle?
06/21/07: Open Source Licence for the World Bike
I have been thinking about using an Open Source licence for various other inventions that could be used by people in poor countries. So I am curious about the Open Source licence you have for the World Bike. For instance how do you prevent someone else from copying the design and applying a patent on the bike?
Can you make the contents of the Open Source licence public? Can the Open Source licence be applied to other devices?
Cheers,
Martin.
One of the few female workers in Kisumu tests out the new Worldbike prototype. Check out the bike's curves on the cargo rack section. When bent right, curves are strong, light, and reduce the number of welds. They also reduce the number of poky things sticking out from the side of the bicycles
We often get emails from people in the early phases of planning a bicycle distribution project in a developing country. If you're one of them you've probably chosen or are finalizing your choice of a project location. Whether or not you are planning to use Worldbike technologies in your project, you need to know how to craft your project in way that's consistent with the conditions in the location where you will be working.
The list below shows the top four location-specific factors you must understand when considering a project location.
With all the media attention for Worldbike these days, we're pushing hard to get all the new work we've been doing onto Worldbike.org. We've gone live before the new site is completely ready.
But, with an open-source approach, you don't always have the liberty to be completely ready. People around the world are contacting us now to try to collaborate.
In the intention of managing expectations, here's what is and isn't working at worldbike.org.
What is working:
