ThisWay is a bicycle by Swedish designer Torkel Dohmers, with a roof intended to protect the cyclist in bad weather.
According to the designer, the concept aims to encourage more people to take up cycling.
The bike has built-in, battery-powered LED lights at the front and rear, which can be recharged using roof-mounted solar cells.
Luggage can be clipped to the back of the frame.
Below is some more information from Torkel Dohmers:
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A comfortable pedal powered bicycle with weather protection. Emphasis is on automotive qualities in the design, to attract non-cyclists who currently rely on cars and motorcycles. Another selling point to attract more potential cyclists (particularly here in Europe) is weather protection - ThisWay has a roof.
Built from composite materials (carbon or flax fibre) and some hydro-formed aluminium, this vehicle is very lightweight (approximately 11-12kg). It has built-in LED lights front and rear, powered by a rechargeable battery obtaining its power from roof mounted solar cells. For minimum maintenance ThisWay's built-in belt drive is well protected and all cables are hidden within the frame.
The car-like ergonomics offer a riding position lower than a traditional bike to keep a low centre of gravity and optimal aerodynamics.
The design has simple controls for ease of use; a single hand brake lever and hub gears type Torpedo Duomatic providing Low and Hi gear.
The rear of the frame has a "luggage connector", where the user can plug-in his/her luggage (e.g. briefcase, helmet box or rack for shopping bags). The design also benefits from flexibility and comfort for riders of different sizes; the crank set and seat is adjustable in length and height.
A "hybrid" version (pedal power/electric motor) is possible and additional battery pack plugged-in into the luggage connector will extend the range further.
Although this design is more expensive to manufacture compared to its traditional rivals, it is still just a fraction of the price of a car and virtually zero in running costs...
Motivation:
There are roofed bikes out there on the market already, such as rickshaws, recumbents, HPVs (Human Powered Vehicles)/velomobiles etc., so covered bikes have existed for a long time, but the challenge is to design a functional and desirable bicycle that even appeals to non-cyclists.
It makes sense for a commuter bike here in Central and Northern Europe to offer some degree of weather protection for improved comfort. Instead of creating a totally enclosed design similar to other HPVs/velomobiles risking the user to feel isolated, a more open design will allow a higher degree of interaction with the surroundings.
The bike should have "attitude" with high visual impact giving the user a feeling of "owning the street".
ThisWay is my proposal for a feasible design that I believe will potentially become a commercial product and hopefully get people more interested in commuting by bike...