Are You Ready to Be Dazld?

Howdy! Welcome to the last AP (Action Project) for my class Design and Engineering. It's sad for me to say goodbye to this class because I enjoyed it so much! This unit we learned all about bikes and how they work. We learned about kinetic and potential energy, how to graph ellipses and circles, derivatives, pre-calc, and so much more. We also visited many locations to learn more about bikes, like Greater Good Studio, Working Bikes, and Earth Rider

For this AP we and a partner were to design an innovative bike for a certain persona and make a model of it. I was partnered up with SR.

Our persona is Atef, a 15-year-old from Cairo, Egypt. Making some inferences about our persona, such as average speed, weight, and heigh, we determined that Atef has a speed of 16mi/hour, is 135 pounds, and around 5'5. Atef bikes to his school, which is around 3.25 miles from his home. They want to continue to use their bike but the weather in Cairo is incredibly hot and dry, not to mention the sand and dirt always dirty and clog their bike's chain and gears. Atef says they can't afford professional bike maintenance so the sand and dirt are big problems for them. Cairo has many mountains and also has terrible traffic. Above all that Atef lives on the second-floor meaning, they have to bring up their bike up and down two flights of stairs.

So let's see how SR and I tackle all of Atef's concerns.

 

Before we even began to create the bike design we talked to people who are avid cyclers. The person I interviewed said this that struck out to me: "I would take my car, Andersonville down to Lincoln Park, it was 5 miles. It would take me, some days, close to an hour. 5 miles. And I would just sit there at a stop sign, moving an inch, moving an inch, and I would see bikes zooming past me." Since one of Atef's concerns was the traffic I considered how we could make a bike that is comfortable to sit on while stuck in traffic.

After interviewing cyclists SR and I began researching. We looked into bikes that were durable, made for sandy and mountainous terrain. Through this research, we also had an idea of making a telescope mechanic where the bike would compact like how a telescope retracts. Sadly this mechanic didn't make it into the final design.


Using the information we got from the interview and from our extensive research, we thought about Atef's needs/concerns.

• Heat
• Being stuck in traffic
• Clogged gears and chain
• Traversing through sand and dirt
• Mountains
• Living on the 2nd floor

Then SR and I designed a bike that would address each of these concerns

• Heat- Our bike, Dazl, has an inner battery throughout the frame that is charged up by both pedaling and solar power. This inner battery powers two fans, one on the handlebar and one on the lower bar to send out cool air from many angles. On the handlebar, we also placed a water bottle holder. In most other bikes the water bottle holder is placed in a rather difficult location for a biker to get to when riding. Having the holder right on the handlebar gives the rider easy access to hydration and allows them to maintain visibility of the road.
• Being stuck in traffic- Dazl's inner battery also powers a bright headlight and turn signals at the back of the bike which are turned on by buttons on the handlebar. We also thought that a normal bike would be uncomfortable to sit on for long periods of time in traffic. For this reason, we included an extendable lawnchair-like armrest and a seat that is soft and cups the rider's buttocks for long term comfort. We also included a rearview mirror for safety precaution.
• Clogged gears and chain- To avoid having to pay for bike maintenance and having a clogged chain and gears in general, we decided that a chain and gears cover was the best choice. It covers and protects the gears and chain from sand and dirt leaving them unscathed and without the need for maintenance.
• Traversing through sand and dirt/mountains- To make traversing through sand and dirt easier on our rider we designed Dazl to have 3 gears. These three gears make many gear ratios possible giving our rider a variety of choices when they traverse through different terrains like mountains, sand, smooth roads. We also included what in the industry is called a 'fat' tire, these tires are very thick tires for easy and fluid movement through tough terrains like sand and dirt.
• Living on the 2nd floor- Though designing Dazl we tried to make it as lightweight as possible. This is the reason our frame looks different from your average bike frame. It has fewer parts and is made of lightweight but sturdy metal.

Now we did consider, why would anyone trust the design of two high school teenagers? I would like to tell those who ask that question to look into how we designed our bike. We did a lot of research on bikes in general, what bikes are best for Atef's location, and what makes a bike innovative and efficient. We talked to people who ride their bikes daily and used the information they gave us into our design process. We also made our very own model of the bike and spent a lot of time creating the design to the benefit of Atef, not our own.

To wrap up this wicked class I want to say that I enjoyed this new side of creation I was pushed into. I love creating, but it's usually for my own entertainment or wants, I also don't collaborate much with others when creating. This class challenged both of these behaviors and showed me how beneficial, and sometimes detrimental, they can be. If I were to do this class over I would change my willingness to be in a partner project as well as how much effort I want to put into projects when I have a partner. I think in this class my first AP did not go over very well partner-wise and I wish I could have done it differently but now I have learned that not every partner project is going to be easy or fun. You yourself have to decide if you are going to put all the effort to get a good grade or do what you're supposed to and let the ship sink. This class has taught me a lot as a designer and engineer, but it also has thought me how to deal with collaboration and the complexities it brings with it.