There's a theory that some drivers get annoyed with cyclists because while stuck in traffic they envy our freedom keep moving despite congestion. If a patent application from Ford ever goes into production, jammed-in drivers could escape by assembling a bike from parts of their cars.
According to Richard Gray of Mailonline, Ford proposes to incorporate a bike frame in the body of the car, and have the other components do double-duty as car parts.
The car's spare tyre will split to work as the bike's wheels; the jack will mount as the pedals and the saddle will come from one of the headrests.
The drawings accompanying the application show at least one other novel feature: a shaft driving the rear wheel at the rim so the bike doesn't need a chain. Shaft drives aren't very efficient, but Ford doesn't seem to anticipate anyone taking off for long rides on the bike. Rather the patent talks about urban parking shortages, implying Ford sees this as a way of getting from a car park on the edge of the city centre to the office.
"A collapsible frame may allow the rider to conveniently store the bicycle in an ultimate destination such as an office," Ford says. Makes sense; having parts of your car stolen by some junkie lowlife would be embarrassing, to say the least.
Patent applications tend to be very broad in order to protect the inventor's ideas and Ford has all the bases covered with the section on materials which suggests the frame could be made from "various materials such as steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, a thermoplastic, magnesium, scandium, beryllium, bamboo, wood, or any combination of these".
As far as we know, scandium has never been used except in some aluminium alloys, and the only beryllium bike frames we've ever seen were trade show attention getters priced at US$26,000.
The patent says: "The bicycle includes components that can also be used in a vehicles such as a car, truck or sports utility vehicle.
"The rear wheel and the front wheel may be fixed to one another for use in a spare wheel in a vehicle or separated for use in the bicycle.
"The seat may be used as a headrest in the vehicle. The drive mechanism may be used as a jack to at least partially lift the vehicle during maintenance.
"Moreover, the frame may be collapsible so that it may be easily stored in the vehicle when the bicycle is not in use."
In 2013 folding bike maker Dahon announced a partnership with Ford to produce a line of Ford bikes which were due to be launched at the end of 2014.
10 thoughts on “Stuck in traffic? Ford wants you to assemble a bike from parts of your car”
*Checks calendar*
Nope, it’s
*Checks calendar*
Nope, it’s still March.
Somewhat alarming seat angle,
Somewhat alarming seat angle, head angle and pedal overlap.. the geo possibly needs a bit of work!
It could work – look what Mr
It could work – look what Mr Obree did with a washing machine!
And so it
And so it begins…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae-Pl-Q34ng&spfreload=10
Hardly surprising since the
Hardly surprising since the first cars were built by cycle manufacturers and made from bicycle parts :H
Surely its easier just to
Surely its easier just to include a fold up bike thats kept in the boot.
This is definitely what the
This is definitely what the motorist needs…. roads littered by half disassembled cars whilst their drivers have buggered off on the space saver and a headrest.
We do see some bloody stupid ideas
It looks like a very flawed
It looks like a very flawed design that’d have restricted/poor performance due to the components being used as well as the configuration. As Notaclimber says, it’d be easier and more practical if Ford was to include a folding bike in the boot. A Brompton doesn’t take up much space or weigh that much and would definitely offer superior riding capabilities to a compromised design with heavy wheels and an inefficient shaft drive, though I suppose Bromptons aren’t that cheap.
I’m not sure I would like a
I’m not sure I would like a headrest that I knew doubled up as a saddle, urgh :&
I’m really failing to see the point of this at all. If it is to close the gap between out of centre parking to centre locations then surely something like a brompton already exists and is miles ahead in terms of technology and ease of storage. Or failing that, if you are already parking up anyway, why not just put a full size bike on a rack (or in the boot space permitting).
Novel, yes, though ultimately the question is “why?”
Quote:Novel, yes, though
Because “Stick a Brompton in the boot of your Ford” wouldn’t get the same number of column inches or the same level of discussion?
Marketing, innit?