Double Decker

     In Design and Engineering, Unit 2, we learned about gear ratios, inertia, power rule, area and volume, and more calculus and trigonometry. We also learned about different types of bikes, and how each part has a job to make it easier for a rider. Going off of that, I learned that smaller wheels help make people go faster but larger wheels make a ride smoother. Then there's the fact that I've also learned how each type of bike has a different way to handle it; road bikes are designed to go fast, however aren't very good relaxing rides. To better understand how bikes work we went to a bike shop, and had Dyson, Divvy, and Alan visit. This gave us a better comprehension on the history of bikes and the process of creating something new. This brought us to our final action project: designing a bike with a partner to fit the needs of an assigned persona. 

     My partner and I received Vanessa, a seventeen year old girl, that lives near the United Center that's 4 miles away from school and has to drop her brother off at daycare every morning before school. Vanessa has to deal with pothole filled roads as she travels on the roads during her regular commute, but since there's not enough space at home, she also has to deal with the struggle of keeping her bike safe from getting stolen. After coming up with a design we had to create an actual 3D model of our bike that would Vanessa's needs for her biking experience. I had a difficult time in constructing the 3D model prototype and making a way for her to travel with her brother. Plus, the idea of adding to what's already invented is fairly difficult, since there have been child-transporting centric bikes before. Though I did like the final product and figuring out the calculations. Please enjoy our design below.

TS & KIS. Sketch. 2015

     Now to start things off, we're going to go into the math and design aspects that most bikes share.
To talk about the tires, our bike's tires would have a diameter of 28in if it were a life-sized model, with our cardboard one being 14 times smaller as the wheels are only 2 inches across. That 28in would give us a circumference of 87.92in, and we get that circumference by multiplying the diameter (28) by pi (π). Using 87.92 inches as a reference point, it would take the life sized bike 2882 wheel rotations to cover the distance of 4 miles that she travels on her route to school. Keeping those 4 miles in mind, it takes Vanessa 23 minutes to actually get to school. Assuming it was a straight distance, Vanessa would be traveling at 10.43mph (miles per hour) or 4.66m/s (meters per second). Going to the gears, they're are obviously essential, making the wheels turn, but depending on how many teeth and how many gears a bike has, that can determine how fast or efficient it is. That's why our bike has the driver gear at 60 teeth and the driven gear, which is in the back, has 30 teeth. This provides a gear ratio that's 2:1 as it takes that driven gear back there on the wheel 2 full rotations to match the single rotation made up front by pedaling that driver gear. Now in general, if we talk about energy, Vanessa would have potential energy right before she's about to go down a slope, as gravity is about to apply going that would pull the bike down the hill. When gravity does begin pulling the bike down, that potential energy will have become kinetic, as it is in motion.

TS & KIS. Double Decker. 2015

TS & KIS. Structure. 2015

TS & KIS. Rear View. 2015 

     This bike has improved on several different aspects. As me and my partner have thought of them, you can see a unique seat in the back designed for younger children or toddlers, as it's a secure, comfortable seat that sports a firm seatbelt, and has a noise reducing, plastic-like, bubble. This is so that any young child in the seat does't have to worry about loud noises, which could possibly scare them, especially since the regular route has to intersect underneath a bridge of railroad tracks. The bubble cover of the seat does indeed have ventilation, and it's also detachable, so it's not permanent. Babies' ears are sensitive, so that's why there's only a bubble around the back seat meant for infants. This was also so the bike didn't seem to much like a car. Our bike also has a basket up front so Vanessa has a place to keep her book bag while riding, as not to interfere with the baby seat behind her. One more thing to note are those mountain bike tires, which are specifically there to make her ride a more comfortable one, since the roads she takes almost every day are filled with potholes. Now if you find a bike that provides protection to babies that may ride in the back while also making a comfortable ride with some convenient options for temporary storage in the front, you've just found our one and only Double Decker!