DESIGN BRIEF
On a weekly basis, a mountain biker enthusiast needs to transport more than one bike from place to place using their car. When there is little room in the car, the bikes go on a bike rack; the majority of mountain bike racks are hitched to the tow bar of the car. Often, a mountain biker enthusiast will require access to the boot of their car at the same time the rack is hitched. However, with current rack designs, the enthusiast cannot access the inside of their car boot whilst the rack is hitched because the rack sits too close to the boot, blocking the upwards or sideways swing of the door.
Some mountain bike enthusiasts have a roof mounted rack which secures the bike to the roof of the car. Although this is effective for some enthusiasts, is impractical for others as an expensive $4000+ bike on the roof of their car makes them feel anxious. Contributing factors to this feeling are; traveling through areas of low clearance, traveling along highways or at high speeds, cornering and high wind. These factors are feared by enthusiasts to damage the structural integrity of the bikes, often beyond repair, and this is what causes the anxiousness. It is important to understand here that these roof mounted racks are completely safe and will not fault under normal driving conditions, however, the driving conditions of some enthusiasts may not classify as ‘normal’ and/or their gut feeling may cause them anxiety on the basis that their expensive bike is in danger, even if they know the product is safe.
So even though the best option for these particular enthusiasts is a tow bar hitched rack, it becomes a major problem when the car boot in inoperable. It becomes frustrating when everything in the boot has to be packed prior to the rack being hitched and vice versa when the boot has to be unpacked. The frustration from this issue grows exponentially when there are frequent stops whilst traveling that require access to the boot, or when you need to access the boot but require that the bikes remain on the rack hitched to the car.
The current solution to this problem is to wait until the rack is unhitched to access the boot, or repeatedly unhitch and hitch the rack every time the boot needs to be accessed. This solution can lead to frustration which causes short temperedness, i.e. yelling, and makes mountain bike enthusiasts clumsy and impatient. This in turn can cause enthusiasts to make silly mistakes, both in the car park and on the trail, they otherwise would not have made if they were in a good mood. Overall this frustrated feeling from what should be a simple task can put a dampener on even the best days out on the trails.
The mountain biker enthusiast requires a solution that allows them to carry bikes using the tow bar and operate the car boot simultaneously, without compromising one or the other. The solution will complement the transportation of bikes with a tow bar, and will need to go everywhere the mountain biker enthusiast goes. The solution will also meet the needs of a mountain bike enthusiast, such as weekly, even daily usage. There will be further investigation into the factors affecting the design of the solution, such as anthropometrics, ergonomics, demographic and aesthetics.
Some mountain bike enthusiasts have a roof mounted rack which secures the bike to the roof of the car. Although this is effective for some enthusiasts, is impractical for others as an expensive $4000+ bike on the roof of their car makes them feel anxious. Contributing factors to this feeling are; traveling through areas of low clearance, traveling along highways or at high speeds, cornering and high wind. These factors are feared by enthusiasts to damage the structural integrity of the bikes, often beyond repair, and this is what causes the anxiousness. It is important to understand here that these roof mounted racks are completely safe and will not fault under normal driving conditions, however, the driving conditions of some enthusiasts may not classify as ‘normal’ and/or their gut feeling may cause them anxiety on the basis that their expensive bike is in danger, even if they know the product is safe.
So even though the best option for these particular enthusiasts is a tow bar hitched rack, it becomes a major problem when the car boot in inoperable. It becomes frustrating when everything in the boot has to be packed prior to the rack being hitched and vice versa when the boot has to be unpacked. The frustration from this issue grows exponentially when there are frequent stops whilst traveling that require access to the boot, or when you need to access the boot but require that the bikes remain on the rack hitched to the car.
The current solution to this problem is to wait until the rack is unhitched to access the boot, or repeatedly unhitch and hitch the rack every time the boot needs to be accessed. This solution can lead to frustration which causes short temperedness, i.e. yelling, and makes mountain bike enthusiasts clumsy and impatient. This in turn can cause enthusiasts to make silly mistakes, both in the car park and on the trail, they otherwise would not have made if they were in a good mood. Overall this frustrated feeling from what should be a simple task can put a dampener on even the best days out on the trails.
The mountain biker enthusiast requires a solution that allows them to carry bikes using the tow bar and operate the car boot simultaneously, without compromising one or the other. The solution will complement the transportation of bikes with a tow bar, and will need to go everywhere the mountain biker enthusiast goes. The solution will also meet the needs of a mountain bike enthusiast, such as weekly, even daily usage. There will be further investigation into the factors affecting the design of the solution, such as anthropometrics, ergonomics, demographic and aesthetics.