Being an honorary American resident it feels only correct I write a few articles on stateside bicycle community stuff from time to time. A couple of months back the yearly run Oregon Manifest Constructor's Design Challenge took place. The video documenting the event has only recently been released. If you haven't seen it yet its definitely worth a watch.
Intrigued?
In short the Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Design Challenge is a one-of-a-kind design/build competition, in which some of the United States best custom bike craftsman and select student teams vie to create the ultimate modern utility bike.
and the winners
THE “FARADAY” BY IDEO AND ROCK LOBSTER CYCLES
The Oregon Manifest Creative Collaborations partnered three of the world’s top design firms with accomplished custom bike builders, to push the boundaries of what a modern utility bike can be. We wanted to see what these talented teams would come up with, and boy did they deliver. While all of the bikes were fantastic explorations into what a modern utility bike could and should be, our voters ultimately chose the bike designed and built by IDEO and Rock Lobster Cycles.
As one observer noted, we don’t realize it now, but this might be the most important bike of the show.
BEST OF SHOW: TONY PEREIRA, PEREIRA CYCLES
Tony Pereira of Pereira Cycles won Best of Show award. Tony’s bike – centered around an electric pedaling assist — was specifically designed to get people out of cars, introducing amenities that drivers have grown accustomed to on the road; stereo, locking storage, stable loading and a huge dose of Fun Factor.
SECOND PLACE: ROB TSUNEHIRO, TSUNEHIRO CYLES AND SILAS BEEBE, ID+
Taking second place was Rob Tsunehiro of Tsunehiro Cyles and Silas Beebe of ID+, a collaboration team which brought a beautifully realized, convenience-laden approach to the competition. Their entry featured an easily attachable/removable seat option, cargo straps for simple, on-the-fly load carrying, Halo Coatings patented retro-reflective powdercoat to make the entire frame reflective at night and an elegant u-lock integration into the front rack support tubes. Their collaborator, Blaq Design created an ingenious pannier with electro luminescence strips sewn in for enhanced rear visibility at night.
THIRD PLACE: CIELO BY CHRIS
KING
Cielo by Chris King offered us a number of nice solutions to the design criteria, with strutless fenders, twin top tube that conveniently holds a u-lock and pump, a universal light mount that can accommodate any off-the-shelf light, an internal cable system that protects the saddle from theft, and coutoured saddle bags from their collaborator, Truce, offering expandable storage, a proprietary mounting system, and a nice streamlined silhouette.
