In case you missed it, last week we posted details about the Seattle designed “Denny” bicycle—the local entry in a country-wide compeition to design the bicycle of the future.
Thanks to your votes, designers TEAGUE and Sizemore Bicycle have officially won the competition, besting the other teams from Portland, Chicago, NYC and San Francisco. Fuji Bikes will now partner with Teague and Sizemore to begin planning the production of “The Denny,” which is slated to debut on the market sometime in 2015.
“I just happened to be at the mall at the Lego store with my boy when I got the call,” says TEAGUE creative director Roger Jackson. “I started jumping around with him like a giddy little schoolgirl. The response we’ve had is incredible—the video we posted was viewed in 150 different countries.”
“I think the handlebar was the key unique feature that may have pushed the needle for us,” Jackson speculates. The “Denny,” which includes features like automatic gear shifting, electronic hill assist, and intelligent auto-adjusting lights, got the most accolades for its elegantly designed handlebar that doubles as a built in detachable bike lock.
The next step for TEAGUE and Sizemore is sitting down with Fuji to discuss logistical details like pricing and refining the design and materials. The current prototype of “The Denny” features entirely custom made parts—the frame, for instance, is made of 3D printed metal. Fuji and the design team will need to figure out how to mass produce these components.
Above: The victorious Denny design team, in power formation.
“I’d be interested to see if they’d want to do a couple of versions of the bike, maybe one without the electronics so they can hit a lower price point, and one as close to the ‘Denny’ concept as possible,” Jackson says.
The electronics were a sticking point for many of the “Denny” supporters though, especially older people who were looking to get back into biking after a long hiatus.
“We had this lady who said she’s retired and would definitely be in line to buy it when it comes out because it could get her back into biking,” Jackson says. “That was really our goal—there’s a ton of bikers out there with the spandex, being road-warriors, and they don’t need The Denny. But there are plenty of people out there who aren’t as into biking who still want alternative trasportation that makes for a healthy lifestyle, and that’s who the bike is for. We asked, ‘who is the non-rider, and what’s stopping them from getting on a bike today?”‘
Congrats to TEAGUE and Sizemore Bicycle for making Seattle proud.