A hubless BMX and a helpless designer
I just received an email from Nikolay Boltachev, a beginning graphic designer from Russia. He has been working on a concept for a BMX bicycle with hubless wheels – and it’s starting to look pretty great!
However, to take the next step in his project, Nikolay is now urgently looking for more information about hubless wheels and/or magnetic bearings.
Perhaps any of you have been working on a similar project, and have gained some knowledge about this topic?
If you do, please share it via the comments, and gain some major karma points!
- 08.02.2010 .
- Maarten P. Kappert .
- Tags .
- Category:
- Industrial design
- Object:
- Bicycle
- Designer:
- Nikolay Boltachev
- Agency:
- Zigzag Studio
- Other attributes:
- Concept
- Share .
- 49 comments
Thats one off the hook, sick, nasty BMX. I just sent a tweet out to the planet looking for folks who know something about the tech. Everybody should do the same. Good luck.
Peace,
Doug
twitter: @dugla
Thanks Doug!
There is industrial designer named Tai Chiem that has done a electric scooter maybe he knows something about it. It seems like if it was his final assaigment or something symilar.
You can put yourself in contact trough this page
http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_work.asp?individual_id=181914
Good luck
http://www.osmos-wheel.com/pages/r_d.asp?lang=en
i think the fork, and the…”rim stay”…or what used to be the seat and chainstays….need to connect to the wheel on both sides.
else it might not be able to take the shock of hard landings.
it looks super rad though.
jd.
There’s no way anyone will ever ride this, ever.
I’m sorry, but it’s a terrible idea and will definitely snap in half.
What’s the advantage of this approach, other than just trying to look cool? Without understanding that it might just be unicorn chasing.
this thing is disgusting, and it will never hit the markets. waste of time and money.
I work at a bike shop and this design would sell but it would probably be very exclusive. Largely because the tech that would be required to make this a reliable ride able rig is going to be expensive. Sure it look like it is week but I thought the same thing when I first so the Cannondale Leftys.
I am sure some people would buy it for uniqueness and I would guess lightness. But then again the wheels might have to be quite heavy.
Cool design but I’m just not to sure if it is worth it.
Won’t ever work. Hubless wheels are nothing new for motorcycles. There is a reason that Ducati isn’t using them on their MotoGP bikes. They aren’t really hubless — the hub in this case is actually the same size as the rim itself. Larger hugs require larger bearings. Larger bearings are heavier. Where rotational mass is considered weight = bad.
This is yet another case of a design student taking something functional and completely foregoing function for the sake of form.
Keep going, you can solve it.
Don’t listen to the doubters. They’re so aggressively anti-innovation. Why so hostile?
Mechanical engineering majors at Yale are working with the tech. Perhaps drop them an email?
http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/b2g91/spokeless_bicycle/
Where do I install the pegs?
probably also pretty hard to do a nose pick without a full fork to put your foot against although that likely wouldn’t be much of an issue after you tear the frame out of the rim doing your first bunny hop.
hubless = weak, heavy, expensive, or all 3
sorry
chainless = about the same thing
even the seatpost on this thing looks improbable
wle
A truly terrible design in every way. What PROBLEM with existing BMX bikes is this intended to solve? Excessive resistance to catastrophic failure? Ability to perform the standard repertoire of flatland/ramp tricks? Beauty and elegance?
Weak.
The following is from the wikipedia link provided in the original post, and sums up quite neatly why this is an interesting exercise in design, but is a failure as a BMX bike:
“Although hubless wheels are striking in appearance, their numerous practical disadvantages have precluded their widespread use as an alternative to conventional wheels.”
There is a reason the basic design of the bicycle has remained functionally unchanged for well over a hundred years.
Man, I would never, ever ride something like that. A designer is just wanking off unless he or she makes the bike sturdier, lighter, or faster. This design would make the bike weaker, heavier and slower.
Like Jeff pointed out above, can you imagine a those kinds of wheels surviving a bunny hop? Instead of the spokes transmitting the force throughout the entire rim, the ball bearings in the rim assembly take all the shock? Yeah, that’ll be a short, jerky ride.
And considering the rider would be right over the middle of the long uni-tube (no downtube), one careless landing could split the bike right down the middle. And no pegs???
The late, great David Hume said something to the effect that it is better for a thing to exist both in understanding and reality. This POS apparently has little hope of either. Why does everyone have to get a degree?
Why stop just with the hubless wheel? Why not make it generate electricity that can power your house, just by pedaling?
Props on the pretty rendering, but hubless concepts (like power generation through pedaling) have been around forever, and have remained firmly concepts. Sure people can make them work, but they end up sucking big time due to weight, cost, friction, drag, etc. etc.
There are numerous reasons for this, but you’d be better off trying to build a rocket that can go into orbit than wasting your time pursuing this idea.
Seriously – real-life bike designers go insane when another of these things pop up on the nets. There should be a cadre of bike design fashion police ready to give the smackdown. Why the hostility? Because it makes designers look like idiots.
Here’s some free advice from another designer:
It helps to understand the function of the thing you’re designing. You obviously don’t.
This is just stupid. You can find Middle School hot rod doodles with more practical and innovative design.
That is the most awsomest thing i have ever seen. All you kids think that tis bike will break, it wont, there is some pretty strong metal these days. and who needs pegs. Now that i have seen this every other bike i look at is ***t. BEST IDEA EVER
It looks sick when can i get one and how much is the damage
Why are people so negative about this idea? Realists stunt the growth of true dreamers and artists. Just because it hasn’t been done, doesn’t mean it CAN’T be done. What if all these nay-sayers got to Wright Brothers or Henry Ford or Steve Jobs? Where would we be without those guys?
Keep dreaming. Designs with this much opposition mean you’re on the right track!
Dude this bike is frickin awesome, I would ride this any day
OK this is a frickin awesome idea, to make the hubless wheel somehow the wheel is gonna need some sort of electrical power IE the cranks are gonna have to provide energy for the wheels, the wheels need electromagnets since they are gonna generate a bigger magnetic field(this is to make them hold up) if you have a kind of magnet in the centre of the wheel(somehow?) then the wheel will hopefully stay together when riding it, apparently there is a major limitation on keeping a constant power output so there is a problem that needs to be solved, back up natural magnets(but this is probably not enough). to make the wheels move is a different story though either a magnet could be used (a very highly power magnet) which spins around as the cranks are being used and once rolling the high powered magnets keep it in place so the wheel will rotate. but how to implement this I dont know the actual mechanical details. and these are only theorectical proposals, and im not the biggest expert in the world im just using some A level electromagnetism to try to explain a possibility.
All u haters, D any of you know how much work and time went into making that insane bike? it WILL be the future and you know it but your just jealous. Oh and if you really want pegs, then i suggest to the designers that you add like removable mounts or something to the side of the fork if that would work… for the back I’d say make an attachment of the frame for a peg to be in the general area of theenter of the rim.
that is a sick bike when does it come out i would definetly go and get one. the only problem it might have some reliability problems but sweet nonr the le
This is definetaly not a BMX bike… This idea sucks in a way but i could be sick in another… I woulnt ride this bike and do tricks on it but i would ride this bike to cruise around the city
This bike has some sick cranks
The bike has his good and his bad like other things. The more you can work on a idea. The better you get in time. There’s one thing a bike like this looks very costly. Its a cool bike and new to the table. Ones you get all the bells & well you get it. But the one thing among the rest that’s wrong the rim needs carbon fiber or something strong .yes it will cost alot but in order to be safe & make it work. You need to make it work some how. Well the ? Is .is it worth it. Think about it very good. Don’t give up. But think real good .because of the time and effort you put in it.always look for another option until other wise thanks god bless. You can also find me at. Face book then on the side put my name Edwyn O.Diaz
That looks pretty sick haha, wouldn’t trust it on a 6ft drop though
It is too minimalistic for aggression that BMX must take. Add some pegs on lets say 3-4 strong(fat) spokes-so it would still be hubless(bearings in the rim). The design makes me think a lot,but I dont know much about tehnics available in modern day world. Bet its possible! Keep it up!
or maybe flatlanders …
Im a product designer and a bmxer and all for innovation and thinking outside the box, but where do you draw the line.
Function before form is my opinion. At the moment this bike wouldnt last two minutes, given to a serious rider, but if you wanted to ride around like a poser this is your bike.
This design could be feasible given substantial mechanical engineering input, someone who understands the loads that a BMX bike is likely sustain, but in the end will it be worth the effort considering there is no functional advantage over a present BMX, plus its gonna weigh a ton, got no pegs, brakes, drive system and how exectly would you go about truing these wheels, back to the drawing board.
Its not what you got, its what you can do with it that counts!
funny thing is you did all that work on the rims and left the bars and seat as stock come on dude bit more effort next time
like L.A.S.E.R. electric cars, led TV, a man on the moon… Today an Idea, reality tomorrow.
it is one amazing machine but honestly it doesnt look like it can hold a hard landing it will just breake in half insted of taking so much time on the tires u should of focused more on the other parts of the bike but i love how it looks and would love to try it out bmx is my life:)
to all you haters… take it for what it really is.. in innovation. hubless? sweet so mmore annoying spokes and hubs! give him ideas dont bag on him for his idea.
Wow. How much is the it. What the weight
thats amazing i want 1 how much r they….
The fork should come straight out of the head tube so that the two tires line up, otherwise they would be off about an inch
And there could be a double layer rim with about four bearings attached to a runner that connects to the frame
All of the people who are casting negative comments are the kind of people who have very limited inner vision. The designer of this bike will not cease to design because of your opinions. He’s looking for answers, not business advice.
To the designer: I love the look of the bike. I don’t know when you will get it working, but I look forward to that day.
this would never work as a bike bike other then for looks or just super easy rides. Would brake that thing in a day….
There have been hubless front wheels as a concept in the nineties by koga miyata and other brands. Also some chopperbuilders have used it. It could be done but not in this design. This frame will snap in two at the seatpost.The front wheel needs a rim with a rail and more gliders. The gearring is gonna need some thought. The cog will be as big as the rim. Not that practical. Needs internal gearring and cardan or belt around the whole rim. Very cool. But it wont make it past concept as a bmx. Maybe as a compact folding commuter. But it has another mayor flaw like this. How do you lock it?
.
I think what people are trying are trying to say and as some have already mentioned is that as a BMX it just wouldn’t survive, the whole point of a BMX is to be near indestructible and take a lot of abuse. As a BMX this bike just wouldn’t survive, it does look weak and like someone has already mentioned the wheels will bend and theres no way of truing them up, the frame, using a single tube will never survive a harsh landing, thats why current BMX don’t use that design, because its dangerous.
As a bike for cruising around the city or popping to the shops etc, would be great, but as a rider myself aiming it at BMX was the wrong target audience
i think that this bike could be the next big thing but this is only an opinion others may say differnet !
i think this bike with abit of work it would be one of the best bikes ever made