Aesthetic pleasing designs

[allroads]

Why is it I can't see any aesthetic looking bikes out there. All I see are a mish mash of jumbled wiring and oversize boxes on basic bikes. The styling and design out there has something to be desired. I have yet to see an eye candy bike. A2b is one such animal and maybe some others I am not aware. But overall most are very unappealing or don't try very hard to form a pleasing uniform design. I want to see what others have created, show your creation.

[adrian_sm]

I went the minimal route. ~14kg, 40+kph, 40km range.

[dogman]

Pretty gets stolen, for one thing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think the raw functionality of my dirt bike is quite pretty. It's not too bad, the CA is now nicely mounted on the center of the stem, not on the funky stock handlebar mount as seen in this pic. The battery box has exposed wires and plugs for an excellent reason. I can have a flaming pack off the bike in seconds.

2812 9c dirtbike, w 40 amp 72v controller..JPG (70.41 KiB) Viewed 1057 times

But I will admit, a tidyer arrangement for the wires and plugs around the controller would be a plus. And I should lose the duct tape. The controller is located where it is to keep the controller cool, and out of the mud. Clearly it needs a repaint of the battery box, but I'm sentimental about it since it was once the box on my death race bike.

[Joe Perez]

My most recent commuter bike is definitely not so clean as Adrian's. To a certain extent it's quite difficult to craft minimalist e-bikes, as the very things that tend to make them fun and useful (batteries and motors) also tend to occupy a fair bit of space.

I went for a form-follows-function approach:



I tried to keep it all very clean and organized. The controller is mounted to the underside of the rear rack (about 0,5cm from the tire) and camouflaged by the wire baskets which flank it, and the wiring to/from it is all contained within a piece of inner-tube which keeps it neat, organized, and out of sight. The control wires which need to cross from the rear to the front do so inside the battery bag, and follow the contours of the bike's native brake and shifter cables. Not much can be done about the motor cable, so I just tried to give it a nice graceful curve.

But at the end of the day, there's just no getting around the fact that the battery itself is quite large. If I'd been willing to spend several thousand dollars more, I probably could have had a custom frame created which housed the individual cells inside the structural tubes of the bike itself, but I feel that placing the battery where I did is an acceptable compromise for my bike in the same way that a lot of people seem to feel that purchasing front wheel drive cars is an acceptable compromise for their automotive needs.

[Ykick]

Works for me...

SuperV.jpg (80.2 KiB) Viewed 1035 times

SuperVnyc.jpg (65.51 KiB) Viewed 1035 times

Now using a stem riser, Brooks saddle and different tires but electricfication is basically the same.

[Drunkskunk]

Its hard to beat Adrian's ultra minimalist design. That's realy nice.
But form must follow function, And my bike's function is to go anywhere.

[Tench]

I like them to look neat and finished.

[Green Machine]

I think aesthetics are important....and always make the extra effort to hide the wires.

This bike had more wire hiding since this photo was taken (the controller wires leading to triangle bag)

[John in CR]

Let's see your design. I don't care if it's drawn on the back of a napkin using lipstick. Let's see it.

Ugly bikes are less likely to be stolen, they just require secure owners to ride them.

Why is it I can't see any aesthetic looking bikes out there. All I see are a mish mash of jumbled wiring and oversize boxes on basic bikes. The styling and design out there has something to be desired. I have yet to see an eye candy bike. A2b is one such animal and maybe some others I am not aware. But overall most are very unappealing or don't try very hard to form a pleasing uniform design. I want to see what others have created, show your creation.

[Miles]

I have yet to see an eye candy bike. A2b is one such animal and maybe some others I am not aware. But overall most are very unappealing or don't try very hard to form a pleasing uniform design.

"Pleasing" is pretty subjective. Personally, I don't like the A2B design - it has that kind of angular-Germanic-awkwardness, like the original Birdy. Their hybrid is, if anything, worse....

[dogman]

Now, you wanna see ugly?

Frankenbike longtail. Bouncing Betty..jpg (115.34 KiB) Viewed 959 times

Hard to steal though, even if they brought a truck.

Prettiest of my efforts might be this one.

Mt%20Cruiser%20small.jpg (126.24 KiB) Viewed 959 times

[Green Machine]

Dogman,

Personally i think that cargo bike is beautiful....way better looking than the blue bike. Things can be funtional and rugged and still aesthetically pleasing. I especially like the battery box / tool box on your cargo bike....oh yeah and the bumper stickers. And wood on electric bikes is in...love the wooden rack.

Pure and wholesome Eye candy IMO.

[www.recumbents.com]

[Drunkskunk]

this bike is just fun. not fast, not much range, but perfect for a ride through the park.




Its not even finished. I invested a lot of time to convert it to a gas electric hybrid, and its so much fun as just an electric, that all the ICE parts are still sitting on the shelf.

[adrian_sm]

@DrunkSkunk. Nice. Are the batteries/controller in the "tank"? What motor? Specs?

[Drunkskunk]

Batteries and controller are in the tank. I run 5S lipos. usualy just 5AH The motor is one of the 350w Ebikekit offered here for dirt cheap a couple years ago. It looks to be a MXUS and I assume it is. I only run it at 36 volts, but The power of the motor seems to fit the capabilities of the bike

The bike is a collection of old parts, some custom work, and modern equipment. Some of the parts are pre-ww2. I don't know if I'll ever put the gas motor on.

[allroads]

I am so impressed in the variety of ebikes out there. They are in so many styles and shapes, some with character and some with simplicity. I am so happy for you all, as they are unique and quite pleasing to the eye.
At the moment I don't have an ebike but I know eventually will. I am currently working to upgrade my Schwinn E1000 Scooter for my favorite pastime, hunting for antiques and collectables out in the field. Have purchased many new parts and a lifepo 36/20 from Sunthing will give me more range.
I have modded so many euro cars in the past, have lost interest. I find this new endeavor a real challenge and I know will be very rewarding.

[Chalo]

I think aesthetics are important....and always make the extra effort to hide the wires.

This bike had more wire hiding since this photo was taken (the controller wires leading to triangle bag)

Congratulations on using the right kind of suspension for a bicycle. It makes it look nice like... a bicycle.

[Green Machine]

Yeah suspension isnt really an option on a fat bike....but the good news is the fat tires give you an inch of kushy suspension

IMG_8465.jpg (203.69 KiB) Viewed 604 times

[contador]

[Should be working]

I love seeing all these designs. Adrian's is amazing--that tiny little round thing is the motor? Where's the battery?

[adrian_sm]

I love seeing all these designs. Adrian's is amazing--that tiny little round thing is the motor? Where's the battery?

[MadRhino]

Aesthetic is subjective. One may like and another doesn't.

I don't build for Aesthetic, my bikes have to be lightweight, quickly serviceable and stand a crash once in a while.
For those reasons they are minimalist, and there is some aesthetic as a consequence.

[oatnet]

I like to fancy myself as a builder of stealthy bikes, which I find aesthetically pleasing, so here are a few that turned out nice enough to post. You need kepler here, he has made a few sweet stealthy designs that look more 'before' than 'after'.

-JD


http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=34230&start=150#p560766


http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24329&start=15#p413920


http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3514

[Samd]

Adrian's bike is a ripper up close - very neat and connections make it modular.

Love that build drunk skunk.

I am biased against my aprilia's styling with hot swap battery....