Dutch Bicycle Company: Building A Better City Bike
I recently gave a presentation in which I used the history of the automobile as an example of how a strong customer focus is key to creating breakthroughs in product design. Often times technology enables this change, but the one common success factor across breakthrough innovations is that the product or service better fulfills a need for the customer. So that was fresh on my mind when I came across this article on Dutch Bicycle Design, located outside of Boston. While their product may not be a breakthrough in the sense of Ford's Model T, it is a great example of customer-focused design.
In designing the Swift, the Dutch Bicycle Company’s solution for the urban commuter, Sorger wanted engineers to keep a few things in mind: The bike had to be able to handle hills and snow; it needed to be designed for speed and maneuvering through traffic; and it had to be light enough that a rider could carry it up several flights of stairs to his or her apartment. The Swift also needed to be high quality, especially since it comes with a lifetime guarantee.
“What’s most unique about a Dutch bike is the way they ride, the handling characteristics. Anyone who hops on one for the first time is usually very surprised how stable, comfortable and upright they are to ride in a city, which provides really great visibility,” said Piper. “You can look around your shoulders and be aware of your environment versus a lot of bikes we’re used to here in this country; they’re taken based off of racing technology and geometry.”
Bonus: Check out the video of bike designer Brian Piper. Who knew so much went into bike design?
Most commuting bikes have about 71 degree angles. By researching a lot of the existing bikes offerings, we found, literally mathematically, there are holes in the market we can fill. Our bikes sit at about 64-66 degrees.
