There's no doubt bicycles are going through a renaissance of sorts, as the dual pressures of gas prices and environmental concerns spur consumers to look for transportation alternatives. Makes perfect sense, then, to see a similar upward trend in bicycle-related paraphernalia and equipment.
One bike innovation out of the Netherlands recently caught the attention of one of our spotters: a combination bike stand and tire pump. Designed by Studio HiMom, the Heklucht pump was originally developed for an art project in Ypenburg, a newly built Dutch neighbourhood. With the goal of stimulating neighbourhood interaction, eight of the stainless-steel units—available in multiple colours—were placed in front of eight Ypenburg houses. The Heklucht won a Dutch Design Award back in 2006 in the category of public space products, and has since been installed also in Gent, Vienna and Leeds, Studio HiMom says.
Indeed, making life easier for bicyclists is a goal with increasing appeal around the globe, particularly when the solution blends strong functionality and attractive design. One to bring to the bike-friendly neighbourhoods near you....? (Related: Vending machines for bicycle parts.)
Website: www.heklucht.nl
Contact: heklucht@gmail.com
Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
Beautiful! I love ideas that use a product (or part of it) for a new task. What else can the bike stand do for us? Provide water? Protect from bike thefts? Encourage communication between bikers?
This idea is a great demonstration of SIT's "Task Unification" thinking tool. To read more about the thinking method that can lead to such ideas, visit SIT's innovation blog at www.sitsite.com/blog
I too love the idea. It adds a valuable function to a product that has had only one function so far. Great idea and a true wonder that no one came up with this idea before.
HP came up with a very simple but innovative idea recently. In a brilliant and ‘why didn’t I think of that’ move, HP has begun shipping its new Pavilion dv692 laptop in its very own padded messenger bags made of recycled material. Instead of wrapping each computer up in a ton of cardboard and Styrofoam, each laptop will be placed in it’s own carrying case with just a bit of bubble wrap and then shipped in packs of three, reducing HP’s individual consumer packaging by 97 percent!
The system is currently being utilized at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.
Read about in my blog (which is in Danish though) http://dittenogdatten.blogspot.com/ or in English here:
http://gizmodo.com/5045298/brilliant-hp-packages-laptop-in-its-own-bag
I too love the idea. It adds a valuable function to a product that has had only one function so far. Great idea and a true wonder that no one came up with this idea before.
HP came up with a very simple but innovative idea recently. In a brilliant and ‘why didn’t I think of that’ move, HP has begun shipping its new Pavilion dv692 laptop in its very own padded messenger bags made of recycled material. Instead of wrapping each computer up in a ton of cardboard and Styrofoam, each laptop will be placed in it’s own carrying case with just a bit of bubble wrap and then shipped in packs of three, reducing HP’s individual consumer packaging by 97 percent!
The system is currently being utilized at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.
Read about in my blog (which is in Danish though) http://dittenogdatten.blogspot.com/ or in English here:
http://gizmodo.com/5045298/brilliant-hp-packages-laptop-in-its-own-bag
It's interesting that they're touting this as a bike rack. Looking at their pictures on the website, they don't actually intend for it to be used as a rack (it is shown installed in the middle of two different flower beds, and in another image it's up a flight of stairs too close to a bench to be practical for squeezing a bike in there). Hm.
I like the idea of dual functionality, and assuming from the design that Dutch bikes have kickstands (there are no vertical supports, like bike racks in the US).
Vertical supports would be nice, but it might not be as pretty. Nice work. Probably a nice addition to most western/US cities. Many Asian towns already have a pretty well-established infrastructure for patching and pumping tires :)