Design for ergonomics in the bicycle industry: an engineering design concept

Bicycle manufacturing is an industry that has taken advantage of technological developments in materials and large-scale manufacturing for high-performance products. Higher-specification bicycles typically use fibre-reinforced composite frames that are optimised for structural performance and mass. Efforts have also been made to increase the comfort of a rider by increasing the vertical compliance of frames, but traditional fibre-reinforced composite moulding techniques restrict manufacturing flexibility in fitting frame geometry to match the requirements of an individual. Manufacturers typically subdivide their frames into sized-based grouping to reduce manufacturing, inventory and supply costs. For specific user fits, customised bicycles are produced, but only on a smaller scale. These improve comfort via improved geometric fit for the user, but typically do so at high cost, or by using sub-optimum material selections. In this paper, an innovative, segmented frame design concept is introduced to facilitate a design-for-ergonomics and mass-customisation approach in the high-volume, high-performance bicycle industry.