French designer Philippe Starck and car company Peugeot have unveiled a prototype bicycle crossed with a scooter, designed for a free cycle scheme in Bordeaux, France.
As part of efforts to integrate bicycles into its public transport system, the city of Bordeaux asked locals to submit design suggestions for an urban bike. Philippe Starck took their ideas and worked with Peugeot to develop a scooter and bicycle hybrid called Pibal, which means "baby eel".
On the Pibal, cyclists can pedal as normal or, if traffic is heavy, use the low scooter-like platform to push themselves along with one foot. The aluminium bicycle has yellow tyres for visibility and spaces for bag racks at the front and back.
The first 300 units are expected to be manufactured and delivered by Peugeot in June, when they'll be loaned to citizens for free.
"Just like the pibale, undulating and playing with the flow, Pibal is an answer to new urban ergonomics," says Starck, "thanks to a lateral translation which allows oneself to pedal long distances, to scoot in pedestrian areas and to walk next to it, carrying a child or any load on its platform. It only has the beauty of its intelligence, of its honesty, of its durabiliity. Rustic and reliable, it's a new friend dedicated to the future Bordeaux expectations."
We recently featured a cardboard bicycle that can be made for less than £10 and a concept for a transparent bike – see all bicycles.
A luxury yacht designed by Starck for Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs was briefly impounded last Christmas when the designer's lawyers claimed he was still owed €3 million for his work on the vessel – see all news about Philippe Starck.
Images are by Philippe Starck and Peugeot.