Bike Fin

A two part mobility tool empowering bike riders to move and stow their bikes in and around tight spaces

RMIT - Mechanical Design 2 - 2021

Summary Video

The problem, intervention, existing market and solution are explored in this 3 minute summary video.

The Problem

When getting ready to go out or returning from a long day, commuters who ride bikes and store them inside their homes can have difficulty manoeuvring their bikes from their front door to where they wish to store it, especially in tight spaces such as apartments or townhouses.

These issues encourage many bike users to store their bikes outside despite risk of theft (12000 bike thefts a year, City of Melbourne, 2013), or they spend a long time taking their bike through their home to where they wish to store it despite the time and patience wasted.

The process can turn an otherwise energizing habit into a frustrating chore and make people less likely to want to get out their bikes for their next commute.

Design Intervention

A free standing mobility tool has the potential to make moving a cumbersome bike indoors much easier, and reduce the risk of damaging walls when storing the bike.

This tool aims to take the stress out of moving one’s bike through your home, creating a convenient and seamless solution for indoor bike storage, and making indoor storage more accessible to a wide range of people.

Project Parameters

Bike Fin was a 4 man group project completed in a span of 4 weeks as part of the RMIT class Mechanical Design 2.
This collaborative project was completed in 2021 in Melbourne during a period of lockdowns.

Solution // Project Overview

A two part bike mobility tool empowering bike riders to move and stow their bikes in and around tight spaces

The Bike Fin aims to remedy the problem of transporting one’s bike from storage to door.

The Bike Fin, is a two part bike mobility tool. One small plastic connection point remains attached to the bike when riding, and the other, the MDF fin, presses into the connection point before the bike is tipped upwards onto the caster wheels to be freely moved around.

Final Outcome

The result was a stakeholder appropriate prototype that could be confidently used and interacted with. The prototype was more stable than expected, and could be confidently moved around and left in place for hours at a time.