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John Villareal's minimalist bike from the future

By Rain Noe - March 11, 2010

in Object Culture

Racine, Wisconsin-based John Villareal's suh-weet Futurist Bicycle Design is intended for "the future as materials and manufacturing advance," he writes. "Our ability to manufacture lighter frames with increasing strength of materials will allow us to make shapes that today would structurally fail." To that end, he has stripped away as many structural elements as possible and jazzed up what's left over.

We dig the hubless wheels, hubless pedal-crank assembly, and that crazy single point of connection for the crossbar--is that a hinge, to make the bike smaller for storage?

Another neat feature you can spot in the renderings: The wheels appear to be made from two pieces of rubber each, with what looks like a chain that presumably links to the no-hub. I can't see that staying clean and debris-free in the city, but darn if it doesn't look cool.

Check out the rest of Villareal's book on Coroflot.

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Osvaldo pavanelli

14 years ago

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Not feasable even in future, I must say. Anyone who really rides a bike knows you cannot have a hubless wheel...it just doesnt work...not a matter of new materials, but a matter of real world.
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Anonyman

14 years ago

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That hinge would in fact be a shock absorber.
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Jeff

14 years ago

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please. please. please. will product designers leave the bicycle alone already. This, like every other, "designed," bike, is absolute rubbish. The future of cycling is in making bicycles cheaper, more reliable, more easily serviced, and of more quality construction not shiny and, "futuristic."

Hubless wheels are heavy and difficult, if not outright impossible, to service by yourself. The handlebars would be incredibly uncomfortable to actually maneuver with or hold onto because of their cross section. No fender mounts and those...things, wrapping the wheels will do nothing to keep water and street filth from getting thrown all over your back, butt, and shoes. Integrated stems and handlebars just mean when you have to replace both to replace one. No room for bar tape means cold and slippery handlebars. A drive train without a chain is exponentially heavier and more difficult to service than one with one.

How about the next time somebody chooses to, "design," a bicycle they actually learn a little about about how and why a bicycle is built and functions. A bike is one of the most simplest, functional, and elegant things available to everyone, these monsters that keep popping up are an offense to designers and to cyclists. You want to see a minimalist bicycle look at the single speed rolling down your street not at this thing.
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Jesse Moore

14 years ago

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the 'cranks' look really short
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Jesse Moore

14 years ago

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How come it seems like every bike in the future is going to have those type of wheels?
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kuba Ingram

14 years ago

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I think if the design had a plastic fitting to protect the chain inside the rubber, something that would snap in and keep debris out of the chain.
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Ken J

14 years ago

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I hate to pick on the hubless part more, but aside from this design, how does a hubless system such as this design is proposing go about making proper drive ratios? This bike would require a rider to pedal faster than the wheel. You can't get around this fact with any sort of reasonable internal gearing.

Aside, I love the design. I wish it were practical enough for fabrication as it looks.
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Misha

14 years ago

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Ok what has this concept to do with minimalism? Has no spokes?
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Rien

14 years ago

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don't do bumpy roads with this one.
1 bump and you hit the wheel/frame connection

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laorosa

14 years ago

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dude...Way to go Johnny-boy!!
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Andre

14 years ago

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Great great great
where can i buy it ;)
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Billy

14 years ago

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Does "Minimalist" really apply to something with that many embellishments? It's understandably cleaner than a traditional bike in a macro sense, but deep down it has a rather hyper-engineered look.
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Ben

14 years ago

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I agree the form is clean yet stylish - especially the stem/bar setup and integrated lights. However, this frame shape is not all that new or innovative. I'm also a little skeptical of the rear hubless wheel and crank drivetrain - it's backwards. The hubless wheels do look pretty sweet, but sometimes form should follow function.
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laorosa

14 years ago

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dude....way to go johnny-boy...!!
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h

14 years ago

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Beautiful in theory. But for hubless wheels, you need hardened steel or thick aluminum rims so they don't warp. A side load on the front wheel would produce a massive lever forces on the bearings. Large rotational inertia. Dirt will continually try to get in those bearings... It just can never come close to the engineering performance of sealed bearings in a center hub with lightweight spokes and rims.
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Ken J

14 years ago

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FYI

Hub-less wheels make engineers cry :`-(
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Stamos

14 years ago

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one thing i see as a barrier to success is the rear bottom fender - u see how close to the ground it is? It will keep hitting the ground in cases of holes, etc. and given that this part is vital to the bike's motion, in a couple of incidents it can easily immobilize the bike - tough!
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