DESIGN NAME: Woom Bikes
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Lightweight Children Bikes
INSPIRATION: As dedicated fathers and cyclists we have been confronted with the problem of finding suitable bikes for our children. Since I have had knowledge within the bicycle industry I knew, that we can fix that problem on our own. After long research and analyzing the physics and needs of children, we developed six different bikes for children between one and half up to 14 years. Now we try to make our bikes even better.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: We build high-quality, award-winning and lightweight bikes for children of all ages. Developed with Passion as designers with eyes for detail, we spent six years (and counting) crafting an ideal bike for children. The result are six lightweight, high-quality Woom Bikes for children of all ages, starting at one and half and going up to 14-year-old young adults. And we still have plenty to do.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: A safe and self-assured handling of the bike is the most important thing. Our woom bikes grow step by step with the skills of the kids. Our woom 1 balance bike enables the kids to have a playful experience with the world of cycling. It is designed in such a way that toddlers can easily climb up and roll. The woom 2 lets children easily change from the balance bike to the bicycle. From the woom 3 onwards, our bikes accompany the children to continually improve their skills, while the upright seating position supports the balance.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: Christian Bezdeka and Marcus Ihlenfeld were looking for quality bikes for their own children and decided to solve the problem for themselves. After almost 4 years of research, development, numerous prototypes and test rides, woom bikes started selling bikes across Europe since early 2013. Managing all the operations from the headquarter in Klosterneuburg, Austria, the company is growing continuously.
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: Constant questioning, experimentation and optimization directly on the bike is challenging us daily. 85% of our bike parts are developed by us inhouse and produced individually and exclusively for woom. This results in bikes that are tailor-made for the anatomy and needs of children and weigh 40% less than conventional children's bikes. The frames are made from of high-quality AA-6061 aluminum and for the components we use forged aluminum.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Woom 1 is for children between 1,5–3,5 years (82–100 cm) it has 12 inch wheels and weights 3,2kg.
Woom 2 is for children between 3-4,5 years (95-110cm) it has 14 inch wheels and weights 5,3kg.
Woom 3 is for children between 4-6 years (105-120cm) it has 16 inch wheels and weights 5,7kg.
Woom 4 is for children between 6-8 years (115-130cm) it has 20 inch wheels and weights 7,8kg.
Woom 5 is for children between 7-11 years (125-145cm) it has 24 inch wheels and weights 8,8kg.
Woom 6 is for children between 10-14 years (140-165cm) it has 26 inch wheels and weights 9,1kg.
TAGS: simple, functional, light, technical, ergonomic, non-toxic, safe,
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: Christian Bezdeka and Marcus Ihlenfeld were looking for quality bikes for their own children and decided to solve the problem for themselves. With the support from the Austrian Wirtschaftsservice AWS and an Impulse XL grant, they were able to bring the project to life. During the developmental process, they have received support from the Austrian AUVA Bike workshop, where prototypes were thoroughly tested under real conditions and feedback helped drive the development process.
CHALLENGE: As the company started as a small start-up, the biggest challenge was to develop the best possible children bike we could imagine with the limited manpower and financial support we had in the beginning. But focusing all the energy in developing a good product was paying off quickly since we gained a good reputation amongst the customers. Happy customers recommended our bikes to others and helped bringing more bikes to avid young cyclists around the world.
ADDED DATE: 2017-08-25 08:32:15
TEAM MEMBERS (1) :
IMAGE CREDITS: Christian Bezdeka, 2017.
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