My original inspiration and motivation behind the bicycle was a feeling and emotion that I can’t quite put my finger on although I tried to in a few posts here and here. If it was subconsciously influenced by any aesthetic movements would say the closest is a combination of art deco and streamlining. I wanted to take to take the primarily rigid geometric shape of the triple triangle bicycle and smooth and flow it out in a way similar to many cruisers and motorcycles. I wanted it to feel edgy and hard without many hard edges and this is the feeling and emotion I get looking at the Joe Lewis Detroit fist.
Art deco is known for these edgy geometric shapes however there is a certain flow and energy to it and it makes use of curved patterns as well. I wanted to achieve the punching through the air fist aesthetic by also emulation a falling drop of water with its streamlined shape. It would be big and bold in the front and then smoothly swoop down towards the back.
All this however may not happen entirely how I originally intended. I am currently weighing heavily a shift to bamboo for the bike and while I still want an edgy “punch” to the bike structural bamboo does not lend itself to curves as easily as steel. So I will continue with the art deco geometric look and I think finished bamboo will give me a warmth often associated with art deco demonstrated in the photo below.
As for progress on the bike a lot of time has gone into research for bamboo bicycle production and redesigning the frame with straight tubing a simple cad drawing of my leading design is below.
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I think using bamboo for the bike is a great idea. It gives it a clean, modern look that you are going for. Only question is, is bamboo difficult to cut without getting the wood to split? Also, are you going to leave it the natural bamboo color or stain it? Another concern with the bamboo is that it may be difficult to mold and form into a streamline design, however it would look so cool if you could do that!
I certainly agree that going with the bamboo will lend the bike to a warm art deco feel. If you do go with the bamboo, how do you plan on securing the various bars that make up the frame? And I assume bamboo is very strong in tension, but does it hold up as well in compression?
The design looks solid from what you have told me in class. I still recommend doing a material analysis on the bamboo to determine if your design can hold much weight. Also I would recommend figuring out how the bamboo joint will work and the max stress they will withstand. Finally, can you get bamboo of adequate lengths?