e k i B a c i r Af The design of
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ROB BYE
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Design to make a difference
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Children cycling in front of me as I cycled along the main road to the local town in The Gambia
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Myself and the Jole Rider bicycle mechanics. On location in The Gambia
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In collaboration with Jole Rider James Dyson Foundation Dave Granshaw Foundation
These organisations not only funded the project, allowing me to travel to The Gambia to test a prototype and experience Africa first hand, they also provided me with the praise, support and publicity needed to push this project further than I ever could on my own. I would also like to thank Marco Ajovalasit (my project supervisor) who continually pushed me to put everything into this project, and this led me to discover new insights and gain new understanding every single week. His support and advice allowed me to explore this brief independently, with great guidance, and meant I could focus on what was important for my education, and not just what I needed to gain a good grade. As a designer and a tutor I have the utmost respect for him, and hope that our professional relationship will continue into the future.
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Contents Project Overview 4-5 6-7 8-9 10 11
Abstract Brief Objectives Deliverables Time Plan 1
88-89 90-91
Development Plan Specification Component Decisions
94-97 98-101
Justification of selection Prototype 1.0
Background Knowledge Co-Design (Iteration 1) 14-17 18-19
Situation The Gambia Designing for Emerging Markets
22-23 24-25 26-27
Base of pyramid design Design for the other 90% Working with these people
104-105 106-107 108-109 110-111 112-113 114-115 116-121
Initial ideation Models Inspiration Solutions Feedback Time Plan 3 Prototype 2.0 Ethnography Research
Process Analysis 30-31 32-33 34-35
Previous attempts IDEO HCD Double Diamond
124-125 126-129 130-135 136-139 140-141 142-143
Overview General observations Workshop Schools Use stages Sourcing components
Proposed Process 39-39 40-41
Overview Time Plan 2 Hear
44-53 54-57 58-59 60-61 62-65 66-75 76-77
Observations System analysis Scenario Personas Market research Existing solutions Collaborations
Co-Design (Iteration 2) 148-149 Design changes 150-151 Design specification (updated) 152-155 Prototype 3.0 Final Concept 158-159 160 161 162-163 164-165
Overview and impact Future development Design review Personal Evaluation Conclusion
Define 168-171 References 80-83 86-87
Stakeholders Opportunities
Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Children at one of the schools I visited -4-
Abstract
Design is not only a means for solving problems, it is also a way to discover new ones. It is a way of thinking that has measurable change, and an art form with purpose. To me this is what design always has been, and this is the first project where I have actually been able to put that into practice and then witness the results. Design can bring change, and this project has done that.
to them has many flaws. This project explores these problems, and finishes with a proposal of a bespoke AfricaBike designed specifically for these childrens needs. The brief was chosen due to the focus being on people and as an opportunity to explore designing for emerging markets, something that has always been of great interest to me. This document is not only a final report summarising the work and findings of the AfricaBike project, but it is also a project logbook presenting the detailed development process the project took.
Children in developing countries deserve great education but most live far away from schools, making walking to them very hard. Owning a bicycle can aid them with that, but sending second hand bikes
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Develop a bicycle frame to suit the needs of School children in The Gambia.
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Brief
The project can be summarised in a single sentence, as seen opposite, however there is also a lot more depth to it. Bikes4Africa are a UK based charity that is focused on improving the education of children in The Gambia; and they do this by providing them with Bicycles. It was established in 2006 with the focus being ‘to change lives through education’ (Jolerider.org, 2013). It’s parent company Jole Rider [pron. jolly] is an education organisation and registered charity, and aims to make positive changes by directly affecting the lives of children. They do this through their education programmes: providing bicycles to enable African children to get to school; teaching bike maintenance skills to increase capacity and confidence and providing books and education resources to offer children more opportunities to learn.
Since it was founded over 13,000 bicycles have been donated to Bikes4Africa and shipped out in containers to The Gambia. However as the bicycles are donated in varying conditions a large proportion of the them need some level of repair and refurbishment. This work is either done my in house bicycle mechanics, or outsourced to prisons where the inmates work on the bicycles. Once repaired to a satisfactory level they are piled up in containers shipped out to The Gambia where on arrival are distributed amongst the 100 schools Bikes4Africa support. Each of these establishments has their own bike manager, who monitors the bicycles and ensures they are leased to the children farthest away or in the most need. By using second hand bikes there are key areas where money is lost; the most apparent being in the repair and maintenance of the bicycles in the UK, during shipping and when in use in The Gambia. This project will listen to the needs of the school children and their families, discover the most appropriate bicycle components for the usage scenario, design a bicycle frame to house these components and suit their needs, then create an initial prototype to be tested in The Gambia. Based upon these findings a specification will be drawn up for a production model.
The core aim of this Bikes4Africa project is to ensure children in The Gambia get the best possible education by enabling them to arrive at school on time, in daylight and alert. Walking or using existing transport networks do not suffice, as many villages are unreachable by road or are too remote making walking impractical. Being provided with a bicycle gives them an opportunity for education, but also drastically improves the life of the whole family; giving them a mode of transport in the evenings and a faster and more effective method for collecting water, food, and other necessities.
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The area I stayed in whilst living in The Gambia
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Objectives
There are two core aims of the project; the first is to gain understanding of designing for emerging markets by creating a bespoke design process, and the second is to implement this in the creation of a prototype frame.
understanding of the situation. Together these two methods should lead to good overall knowledge of the differences of designing for these people compared to the western market.
Because of this, there are two clear focus points to the project. Researching existing design methods then developing a new process based upon these findings. This process will then be used to research the necessary aspects to support the design of the prototype solution.
Developing a Bicycle Frame Based upon finding a design process plan will be drawn up and this will allow for in depth research into the situation in The Gambia. The focus will be on understanding the needs of the user and discovering how they use a bike and what they want to use it for. A prototype will then be made to solve the problem and this will be tested in The Gambia with the results from this being used for a final design proposal. The core objective is on understanding the needs of the user and implementing these into a product, so only necessary research will be done into bicycle frame design. it is predicted that only a basic understanding of frame geometry will be needed is this is not the focus of the project.
Designing for Emerging Markets Gaining understanding in this field of design will come about through a vast amount of literature research as many experts have written about this topic. Design professionals have started to focus more and more on this topic in recent years and this is also starting to reach mainstream news outlets. Following on from this on site Ethnographic research will be done in The Gambia to gain first hand
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Deliverables
Mandatory
Desirable
These aspects must be achieved to consider the project fully completed.
These should be done unless the cost is shown to be too high.
- A design process created specifically for designing products for emerging markets. - A research summary of the findings gained from following this process.
- A final prototype. Testing of the initial prototype on location - in The Gambia. - Ethnography research in The Gambia.
- An initial prototype to be used in testing. - Analysis of this prototype. Enhanced - Suggested changes to be made for the final solution.
Optional These can be completed if the need for them is there.
These will be considered for development in the future, beyond the deadline. - An implementation plan for the new bicycle frame. - Engineering drawings for manufacturing. - Testing of final frame design.
- A CAD model of the final concept. - Initial test batch of the frame. - A design specification for a commercial model. - Analysis of the frame geometry.
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Time Plan 1.0
October Research design for emerging markets Create bespoke design process Interviews with professionals November IRE Evening Develop project development plan Research bicycle design December VIVA’s Interim report Research plan January Ethnography research in The Gambia Analysis of research Component analysis February Prototype 1.0 Testing and frame adaptations Prototype 2.0 March Prototype testing in The Gambia Testing analysis Prototype 3.0 April Future steps Design for manufacture
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Project Overview
Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Situation
Bikes4Africa have operated a simple yet effective process over the years the remains relatively unchanged. The bikes are donated, repaired, shipped to The Gambia, distributed to the schools and then leased to the children. But this method is far from cost efficient and streamlined. Interviewing a number of staff members who have either visited The Gambia or have lived there (for up to 8 months) gave a clear overview of how the current bikes are used, and what the core problems are.
additional repair once they have reached The Gambia. Once repaired, they are then transported to the respective schools where they are received and distributed to the children by a bike manager; the children farthest away from school and the ones who live off the main road are prioritised. When the bicycles are in circulation with the children, it is largely their responsibility to look after and maintain them. So when parts degrade or need repair they are left for months before they are eventually unrideable, and only then are taken to a local mechanic for repair. These mechanics are usually a single person, sitting under a corrugated iron shelter with a small toolbox and on occasion some basic welding equipment. Because of this repairs are quick, simple and rudimentary meaning the repairs are often ineffective over time, or at the very least unsafe. Replacement parts are extremely hard to find as the models vary greatly, so it is not uncommon for damaged components in the bike to be cut out and fully replaced with a new housing that can fit available parts. A prime example of this would be if a bottom bracket was hard to remove or replace, the whole unite would be cut out
The bicycles that are donated to Bikes4Africa vary greatly and this causes difficulties and challenges throughout the entirety of the repair and distribution system. Processing these bicycles becomes extremely time consuming, and mechanics require knowledge of everything from road bikes, to mountain bikes. BMX bikes and town bikes. Once they have reached a satisfactory level of repair, the bicycles are then loaded into a container by simply piling them in up to three bikes high. This is to maximize the storage capacity and use the space in the most efficient way possible. But this does lead to a number of bicycles being damaged and will therefore need
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The Bikes4Africa workshop where some bikes are restored and resold to create funding for the project.
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and replaced with a new part that could fit the parts that are available for cheap. This example emphasis how labor is so cheap whilst parts are rare and expensive, so it is cheaper and easier to spend more time repairing a bike in a round a bout way than it is to order the correct part. However these problems are not excessive, and in no way outweigh how crucial these bicycles are for the community as a whole. Even though they are primarily leased to the school they bring so much more than simply a mode of transport. Children who attend school regularly, perform well and need the most support are more likely to be offered a bicycle, driving up attendance, increasing involvement and making education accessible. On top of this the whole family will benefit as a bicycle brings so much opportunity to families in developing countries. A mode of transport allows them to travel farther for work, sell crops in more affluent markets and even has the potential to bring them out of the lowest
levels of poverty and all through a simple product we take for granted. Yet there is still clear problem when it comes to the cost, reliability and serviceability of second hand bikes being sent out to The Gambia and Africa as a whole. And an opportunity exists for a bicycle specifically designed for the needs of school children whilst also being cheap to make, hard wearing and easy to service and repair with available components. This new solution will almost be a complete replacement for the existing method, with the same distribution and lease methods used for the new bicycles. In response to this newly donated second hand bikes will allow Bikes4Africa to move their distribution system into new locations, without having to invest large amounts of money in the buying of the new bicycle. Creating a trial method for new situations to see if bicycles are necessary in that market and therefore act as a preliminary test before implementing the new product (McKinven, 2013).
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A typical bike workshop in The Gambia
T he key problems with second hand bicycles are reliability component availability and their appropriateness f or the situation - 17 -
The Gambia
The Gambia is a country located on the coast of West Africa. It is completely surrounded by Senegal and boarders no other countries. It is situated on the Gambia River, hence the countries name, which feeds into the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia was initially part of the UK and gained its independence in 1965, however it remained part of the commonwealth until October 2013. Since its independence the country has been relatively politically stable maintaining an active democracy, and the current President Yahya Jammeh, is now in his forth term since first being elected in 1996 (Geography.about.com, 2013).
actually cultivated. The natural beauty and proximity to Europe has also made it one of the larger markets for tourism in West Africa, boosted by government and private sector investments in eco-tourism and upscale facilities (Geography.about.com, 2013). The Gambia is situated 13o North of the equator and sits at the same level as Thailand, Vietnam, Venezuela and India. Because of this position it is warm all year round, with temperatures only fluctuating 2-3 degrees between the rainy and dry seasons (BBC Weather, 2013). However the level of precipitation does vary drastically. The dry season has almost no rain at all, compared to the 500mm that can fall in a single month in August. It is a tropical environment, with wetlands, plains and forests; but these are becoming less common due to large deforesting and drought (30% less rainfall in the last 40 years). Due to its locale around the river Gambia there are lush areas of greenery (Cia.gov, 2013).
The Gambia has extremely limited natural resources and relies mainly on agriculture and re-export triad to maintain its market. This agriculture accounts for around 30% of the total GDP and 75% of the total population rely on this for their livelihood (Cia.gov, 2013). This sector has a large amount untapped potential as only half of the available arable land is
Country
Population
GDP per Capita
Area
Life Expectancy
Age Breakdown
The Gambia UK
1.8 Million 63 Million
$1,900 $37,500
11,295 km2 243,610 km2
64 Years 80 Years
0-24 Years 60.3% 0-24 Years 30.1% (Cia.gov, 2013)
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Project Overview Background Knowledge
Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Base of pyramid design
Over the last decade there has been a much bigger push towards designing for the Base of the Pyramid. U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt first used this phrase in April 7, 1932; however there have only been a number of designers and companies focused on helping these people through the creation of products and services specifically for them. Base of pyramid design is focused on creating products for those in Tier 4. These are individuals whose income is less than $1,500 a year (about ÂŁ950) but people in this bracket are commonly referred to as individuals earning less than $2 a day. This really puts into perspective the people whom are being designed for, and gives insight into the level of poverty they are living in. It draws attention to their day-to-day struggles and shows their limited ability to save and invest in products. Creating products and services
for these markets are regularly thought of as pointless endeavors, however base of pyramid design clearly shows how untapped this market is. The majority of designers create products for people in tier 1, and occasionally tier 2. With a quick sum it is possible to see how this equates to only 1.8 billion people, compared to the 4 billion people in tier 4. Targeting products at only Tiers 1-3 instantly excludes over 65% of the global market. Some organisations do focus on the Tier 4 markets, however they do so with a sense of humanitarianism, not business focus. But clearly there is such a potential for profit if this vast market became a center for design and innovation. There are of course difficulties in creating products for people living on $2 a day, but with modern technology and manufacturing methods, creating products in vast quantities has become cheaper.
(Generationim.com, 2014)
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I saw many children using a donkey and cart to transport goods
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A local market where most people by their food, groceries and clothes from.
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Designing for the other 90%
These steps are what Paul Polak, a leader in designing for emerging markets, believes are the key to creating effective solutions for the problems these people face (Polak, 2009). They are focused on not creating high style, expensive goods; but functional, effective, and sometimes ugly products. Things that 90% of the world needs, but in a form they cannot currently afford. They are never aimed at being desirable pieces of art, the focus as always on cost. Reducing in further and
further, until it becomes so cheap, that even someone earning $2 can afford it. They are long lasting, easily repairable, use traditional methods with modern materials and manufacturing techniques, easily expandable, simple, and lightweight. People designing for the other 90% know that it is not just about improving the lives of the worlds poor. It is about designing for a growing market of people who have similar problems on a global scale. It is where the money will be!
――Go to where the action is. ――Talk to people who have the problem and listen to what they say. ――Learn everything about the problem’s specific context. ――Think big and act big. ――Think like a child. ――See and do the obvious. ――If somebody has already invented it, you don’t need to do so again. ――Make sure your approach has positive measurable impacts that can be brought to scale. ――Make sure it can reach at least a million people and make their lives measurably better. ――Design to specific cost and price targets. ――Follow practical three-year plans. ――Continue to learn form your customers. ――Stay positive: don’t be distracted by what other people think.
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Working with people in developing countries When designing for users living of $2 a day or less the first priority is always to generate income to buy the necessary things they need to live, such as food and clothes. This is what each day is focused around and therefore is the only thing they will invest money it. With any new product of service it muse be so clear how it will help them increase their monthly income. And this income must start to come in immediately! It cannot be a longterm investment; the benefits must be seen almost immediately (Smith, 2007). Therefore any new product must be quick to create new income, and ideally this will be done through very clear steps.
Many people believe the best way to break poverty is through gifting products and machinery to those in developing countries as this will help them solve their day to day problems. However after reading Paul Polak’s book Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail it became clear this is not the case. The book is focussed on how products and service can work and analysis why existing methods often fail, explaining the background of these failed methods in detail. Polak describes how gifted products are often only supplied to the equivalent middle class (people living off $5$10 a day) as they are created for larger fields or are unusable in the
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situations people in real poverty have (Polak, 2009). He also states how gifted products have no ownership by anyone and quickly become damaged beyond repair by no one having the responsibly or knowledge to keep them working. Therefore he suggested how it is crucial to design products so they can be sold at unsubsidised amounts to the end users in poverty. This not only creates ownership, but also brings a sense of investment and keeps the local market going.
It cannot be a lon g term investment the benef its must be seen almost immediately Paul Polak in India, (Piramalfellowship.org, 2014)
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Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets
Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Previous attempted design
Over the years there have been a number of projects focused on creating solutions to fulfill the need of a bicycle in Africa. These include the World Relief Bicycle the Coop Bicycle and many more, however this example is the most well documented research-based solution. Jason A. Morris, Assistant Professor of Industrial Design, Western Washington University was the driving force behind the project. The process began when his Mother, who lived in Uganda, informed him that the bicycle taxi’s there used oldfashioned bikes that were not suited to the situation. This kickstarted a research based design approach to create the ideal solution for these people. The main focus of the project was to see how the design process differs between the USA and emerging markets, and he did this through the design. The process was focused on co-design with sketches and feedback being sent between the end users and the designer throughout, and the project included in situ testing of the first prototype in Uganda. The results from this showed that the bike did solve some of the problems, but was still more appropriate for use in the western world (Morris, 2008, pp. 1-8).
Overall the process was un-successful as after the initial testing the projected came to a close and no further action was taken. However a lot can be learnt from what Morris did. The co-design development stage was by far the most beneficial as regular feedback from the end users gave clear direction to the products form and function, and when presented with the initial prototype lead to some of the most useful feedback and critical thinking in the entirety of the project. One of the main issues of the project was the complete ignorance the designer took when selecting components. Parts that were offthe-shelf in the USA were used throughout the entirety of the product, which made the bicycle near impossible to repair in Uganda, and were also inappropriate for the terrain. Overall the process did not investigate the users needs to a deep enough extent and many presumptions were made throughout, showing how a clear research and testing plan is needed alongside an expert knowledge of the usage scenario.
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Testing in Africa, (Hoima Bicycle, 2014) - 31 -
IDEO HCD
HEAR
CREATE
THEMES
Time STORIES
OBSERVATIONS
The IDEO Human Centered Design process was created for people what want to “Bring innovation to the base of the pyramid. Enter a new region. Adapt a technology to your region. Understand the needs of constituents better. Find new methods for monitoring and evaluation.� (IDEO, 2011). It is targeted at people
earning less that $2 a day. This is one of the best and most well founded processes in the whole of the design industry, and is highly regarded amongst professionals. However due to the nature of the process, it remains quite unstructured. This allows for freedom of investigation but tends to miss out on traditional and effective
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DELIVER
Abstract
OPPORTUNITIES
SOLUTIONS
PROTOTYPES
Concrete IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
methods of design, test and build; which is still an extremely effective process independent of the target market. The process is split into 3 key sections: Hear, Create and Deliver; and these contain the research areas of: Observations, Stories, Themes, Opportunities, Solutions, Prototypes and
Implementation Plan. The focus of the process is on listening to the end users and implementing this alongside them with constant feedback throughout. This is what will be taken from the IDEO HCD and integrated into the design process for this project.
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Double diamond process
This design process was created by the Design Council and is what is taught in the majority of Universities across the UK. It was developed to provide clear opportunities for divergent and convergent thinking, allowing freedom to explore and investigate. Included is also 2 stages of review that provides focus and clarity to what has been discovered; giving direction to the next stage in the process. The core of the Double Diamond is the creation
of a Brief, a clear centre of the process designed to summarize the research findings in the form of a specification. Overall it is clear and extremely effective however it can be relatively undefined when it comes to specifics. This freedom means the process can be used effectively but also incorrectly, and needs to be expended and built upon when used for projects.
Feasibility Review
Concept Review
Brief
DISCOVER
DEFINE
DEVELOP
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DELIVER
Sketches from my group at the Made in Brunel 24hr Design Challenge - 35 -
Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis
Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Overview
This design process was created to allow for free thinking but that it is time structure, focused and directed. There are key areas of necessary investigation allowing the problem to be explored on many levels; from the human point of view but also the technical. The inclusion of Co-design throughout the entirety of the process gives opportunities for feedback and insight direct from the users. It is well rounded, structured and detailed. The Hear stage is borrowed from
IDEO’s initial stage as it aptly defines how important it is to listen to the end users, and discover what the actual problems are. This research leads from observations to detailed user stories and therefore personas that are then used throughout the process. The technical side of the hear phase, requires the designer to look at hard data about the region they are researching, giving deep understanding of the environment and the bigger picture of the situation.
HEAR
DEFINE
PERSONAS
HUMAN STORIES
STAKEHOLDERS
EXISTING SOLUTIONS
INITIAL BRIEF
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
OBSERVATIONS
MARKET RESEARCH HARD DATA
TECHNICAL
OPPORTUNITIES
COLLABORATIONS
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DES SPECIFIC
SIGN CATION
The define stage follows on seamlessly giving focus to the project and an opportunity to realise the real problems and distil the users needs in detail. At this point a Design Specification or User Requirement Specification is drawn out, no longer called a brief or a specification, but a list of points that the solution will need to have to solve the problem effectively whilst also staying relevant to the end user. This keeps the focus on the products impact not the function.
The co-design phase is perhaps the most crucial part of this process, and is what differentiates it from many others. The end users are deeply integrated into the design. This may be through getting feedback of early drawings or sketches, or even better, in the testing of early prototypes. In addition, the necessary training plans are laid out, and an implementation strategy formed to give the solution the best possible launchpad.
CO-DESIGN
LAUNCH
CONCEPT FEEDBACK MODELS
TESTING TRAINING
SKETCHES
USER FEEDBACK PROTOTYPES
SOLUTIONS
COST REDUCTION STRATEGY
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IMPLEMENTATION
Time Plan 2.0
October Research design for emerging markets Create bespoke design process Interviews with professionals November IRE Evening Develop project development plan Research bicycle design December VIVA’s Interim report Research plan January Ethnography research in The Gambia Analysis of research Interviews Component analysis February Prototype 1.0 Testing and frame adaptations Prototype 2.0 March Prototype testing in The Gambia Testing analysis Prototype 3.0 April Future steps Design for manufacture
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Reasons for these changes
At this stage the majority of research into designing for emerging markets had been done and the focus was in researching bicycle design and creating a full research plan for the project. However it became apparent the due to cost and time constraints the first trip to The Gambia would have to be cancelled. This was due to time and cost constraints. However a simple alternative of interviewing people who had lived and worked in The Gambia
should give enough insights to continue the rest of the process. The March Trip to The Gambia was still planned, and this will now not just be focussed on prototype testing, but will now also be used for ethnography research. Even though this will be done much later in the project than anticipated, it will still provide essential information to push the project onwards to a final design proposal.
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Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process
Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Observations
Initially this section was to be dedicated to the initial findings from ethnography research. But as mentioned previously, the method is now through interviews will people who have lived and worked in The Gambia. The main interview was conducted with David McKinven, a bicycle mechanic from Jole Rider who had lived and worked in The Gambia for 10 months as a bicycle mechanic. Therefore he had gained a vast amount of knowledge during this time and had may insights to share. The method of interview was based
around the IDEO P.O.I.N.T technique where the focus is on Problems, Obstacles, Insights, Needs and Themes. This was one of the most important aspects of the project as the findings were used directly to create the initial prototypes, and the insights were considered when any new change or feature was to be implemented into the design. This does not need to be read in its entirety (and should be considered an Appendix) but has been included due to the crucial insights. The key points have been highlight.
Problems
easily. It just gives them a better mental attitude when they are at school. An 8km walk maybe about 2 hours.
Who are the end users of the Bike? It is the school kids out there aged 12-20.
It does boost the standard across the whole school as well. They all have something to aim towards, they all kind of want to get a bike. So if a Student misses school, they can actually loose their benefit of the bike. So it makes them attend School more regularly. And then the other kids also want to get given a bike, so they attend School more regularly in the hope that next month they will get a bike.
Why do they need a bike? Commute to school on either shift, so either in the really early morning or really late at night. Can be 8km each way. So it is a distance to school. Why can’t they walk or use another mode of transport?
So are the Bikes owned by the School?
They do walk, they do walk at the moment. But what happens is that they arrive at school tired, fed up and just not willing to learn. So it is not that they don’t go to school, I mean obviously some do skive off, but it’s mostly that they get to School and just can’t be bothered to learn. So it’s the ability to get to School quickly and
Yeah, they are owned by the School. Governed by one bike controlled within the school. It is usually a member of staff. Why don’t they have their own Bikes? Is it purely cost?
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Yeah, pretty much cost. They have to pay for their schooling as nothing is done by the government. So parents have to pay per term for their schooling and then any of the trips and food on top, it gets quite expensive for them.
time, they just want the money. Obstacles How will these bikes be provided to the end users?
It sounds a bit bad as well, but if we gave the bikes to their parents, they would just sell it.
As I mentioned earlier they are generally given to the school and then leased out to the students.
It sounds a bit bad as well, but if we gave the bikes to their parents, they would just sell it. It is really hand to mouth with their wages, if they don’t have money, they will just sell it to eat. So having the system when it belongs to the school and then leased to the child prevents them from being sold.
What is wrong with the current solutions? Quite often they are sent from here unrepaired or poorly repaired because they are old second hand bikes. And they could have parts that are about to break.
Quite often they are sent from here un-repaired or poorly repaired because they are old second hand bikes.
Look into the semantics of community ownership, as if they know it is a community bike just being passed from one child to the next, they are less likely to steal it. Because it doesn’t really belong to that child, it is who is using it at the moment.
Commonly rear hubs and bottom brackets that are about to go. Other problems are that they just don’t have the selection of tools to deal with all the different types of stuff that we send. And we’re trying to streamline that, to send stuff that they can definitely handle. But that isn’t always possible. So something, that we know the have the current tools for, we know they can get spare parts for would turn a bike that could maybe last 3 years into something that could last forever.
In Gunju where we stay, there is a kind of general knowledge that there is mongoose bikes there, as we sent loads and loads out there. So if anyone see’s those they know they are from this certain school. So they know if they nick it they are going to be in trouble, as someone will think “Where did you get that from?” In the books I have been reading about designing for emerging markets, nearly all say how they are only financially planning ahead for the next month. Do you think that is right?
It has to be a steel frame Just the amount of Aluminium bikes that are just sitting there because of the cracks in them, as they cannot weld it, so they have bolts in. They just are not usable. It has to be a steel frame. Look at parts that you can service, parts that can be taken apart. Like the bottom brackets not sealed
There is no thinking ahead to, will I need I bike in a few months time. Once the school holidays come, they sell it straight away. Because the don’t need it at that
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bearings. Most in this country are like that because here they are so cheap. You can just replace the whole thing as labour is so expensive to have something like that repaired. Out there it’s the other way around. Parts are so expensive and the labour is so cheap, so you need to make all the stuff serviceable, so what you have lasts forever.
who live along that main road, even if it’s 5km away, probably won’t be given a bike; as they can just get on a bus by paying their fair and going. Or they can just hail down a car and get a free lift. But the kids who live out in the sticks off the main road have to get quite far. Because the rains can be so hard in the rainy season, the roads are completely rutted roads where the ruts can be 1 meter deep. It makes them really difficult to use, so walking or using a bike is really the only way you can get there fast!
Insights What are the current solutions? Second hand bikes donated to us from the public are then shipped out in containers. Some work has to be done on them to get them up to good nick. This can be done by us, but we send a load of bikes to prisons who then have the inmates work on them. But this is quite a costly and very time consuming process.
Are the children quite attached to the bikes? It’s so different to here out there. They don’t own things, they are just completely not materialistic in any way. If I am standing here by a bike and I leave it there, anyone in the local community can come and take it. And I wouldn’t feel like they have taken something of mine. They all own it together. They pray together, eat together, it’s normal for them to be like that. So if it went missing, you would kind of have to ask around to see who has taken it, then would have to find them and ask for it back, but it’s not theft in any way. They just get borrowed, but they might not always come back, and that jut doesn’t get to them really.
you need to make all the stuff serviceable, so what you have lasts forever. Also, when the bikes are sent in the container a load of them get damaged to have to be repaired when they arrive as well. Do you have quite a big network of Schools out there?
If they keep doing well, they get to keep the bike, so it is quite a big incentive.
We have currently got around 98 Schools, maybe a little bit more than that. We have a lot of Schools running the length and breadth of the country, they are everywhere.
So the Schools try and keep hold of the bikes as much as possible. They ask them to keep them in the house and keep an eye on them. So the kids that do that buy a little lock for £1, and lock it up, and they will be the ones who get the most benefit out of it. So it’s locked in their house, they can decide when someone uses it, and who it gets used by.
Some of the schools have very different terrain, even though the country is really, really flat. You occasionally have a few hills, but not the commonly. Some kids live in a town that has a School on the main road, with concrete or tarmac, which is pretty perfect. The kids who live around that area won’t be given bikes and the kids
So the bikes are a bit of a reward for the
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kids. They are given to the kids that are living furthest away, and the ones that show the most potential to do well. If they keep doing well, they get to keep the bike, so it is quite a big incentive. It is definitely a reward.
cycling clubs, and they all think they are amazing as they are all on road bikes. The Immam, the people in power as they live in generally Muslim communities. Anyone with a Job as well. There is massive unemployment, so the guys who are just hanging out in the garden not really doing much look up to people who have a consistent job. If you have a bike you are also looked up to as they are a bit of a status symbol. If there is someone ages 20-30 who has a bike, it shows you must be doing quite well.
Day to day how are the bikes actually used? To and from school mainly. So most of the bikes are used a lot, they get used probably before school to go and collect stuff for breakfast or fire. So real young kids use them, then used for getting to School and back, probably in 2 shifts.
The bikes the little kids are on, are generally borrowed who given to them by us, so the young adults with bikes tend to be top dogs.
They get chucked about quite a lot and do a huge amount of miles.
Do the children want to keep the bikes when they grow up?
And then in the evening they get used to go to friends houses and things. They get chucked about quite a lot and do a huge amount of miles.
The kids definitely want to keep them when they get older, and a lot of them do just do that. We have a lot of them that just don’t bring them back when they leave School, they just take it. And when it happens it becomes really difficult to chase them down. Each school has all the details of each of the children, so they can just go round their house and as “Where is this bike?”, so they do get some back. But they can just say, “Oh it has been stolen”, or “Someone else in the community has it”. So then it really is just got, and you just can’t get it back.
Do they tend to load the bikes up that much? We watched the School runs from a local Café, and the School runs only ends about 1 o’clock with them going back and forth all morning. So they fly past with a kid sat on the back, another on the front all carrying books with them. And that is fairly common. The ride along with no brakes on this off cambered, rutted roads. They really just go for it.
Is there any other way the bikes could be used to benefit the kids, on top of just being transport?
they fly past with a kid sat on the back, another on the front all carrying books with them.
Yeah they really do just use them for anything and everything and that can be quite a problem. Where a bike might be able to last 3 years just doing School runs, it lasts a year because it is used for everything by everyone. And the families can be about 30 people large so the bike just gets shared between everyone. The bike farm really has to work for everyone. And even though we don’t want it to be
Who do the kids look up too and respect? They all respect the people who play football, or who are good at sport. The local and national football teams, they are massively into it. There are a few small
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used by them, there is pretty much no way this can be stopped. It will get used for carrying wood and everything!
need, as no components can last forever. So they must be able to source parts for it. A bike that can withstand the weight of up to 3 fully grown adults, so that it can take a lot of weight over dodgy terrain.
It has to be designed to take a beating in all these areas. So when it is used for all these things it can actually survive the situations. Even though the main aim is for school runs, there is just no way to stop it being used for everything.
They have to be able to get the parts that they need, as no components can last forever.
Where a bike might be able to last 3 years just doing School runs, it lasts a year because it is used for everything by everyone.
Steel rims vs aluminium? They can’t really do anything with Aluminium. Steel you can hammer back into shape, weld although they are mainly chrome plated so are not that easy to weld. They still would, by just scraping it off and welding it though.
Are the bikes given out 1 per child, or per family? So if they are in the same family, going to the same school, and are about the same age; they general only get one bike. Most families only have about 1 year in between each kid and they will have them 6 years in a row. It’s down to the schools to allocate the bikes, but generally it is very unlikely they will get more than one.
If a bike had steel rims and no rim brakes, it doesn’t have to have chrome rims does it. The chrome it just there to protect the steel. Some just use hub brakes. Would the new bikes be used differently to the current system?
As one will usually be doing the cleaning at home, and another one would be at school, and then they would switch. If there were for kids, they would probably just get one bike and they would just have to alternate or share. One or two would sit on the back, and another one would run along the side.
No. They would just slot in fine with the current system. You don’t really change the current system as it works well. They would be given to the schools, then handed out to the kids. How are the bikes repaired?
Needs
They take them to a local bike mechanic. Not at the school, we only have 3 school that have mechanics. The bike mechanics will be sitting on 2 or 3 street corners in every village, sitting on a little piece of wood with a bit of corrugated iron above him for shelter. There will just be a sheet out with old spanners, pliers and generally an old cart that they use as an anvil. And he will just sit there and repair bikes all day. They can get all the stuff to repair punctures, so they can do punctures,
What would be the ideal solution? A bike that could take massive load, a bike that was easily repairable with barely any tools. So if you could make a bike that was just completely serviceable with an adjustable spanner and a hammer, that would be perfect. Then everyone could repair it and it would always work. They have to be able to get the parts that they
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wheels. They quite commonly a hub will go, and as they can’t get the bits for the bearings, they just rebuild the wheel. Take all the spokes out, get the new hub as it’s only a pound from the shop, put it straight in a build it up. And charge them around 2 pounds for the service. So they do quite a lot of work, and they will work all day long. They will work from 8 in the morning until midnight. They are the main way people get things repaired.
more, the components get better and last longer. So it really has to work with the parts that are already out there? Yeah exactly. Because it has to have some parts that are there, and can be replaced. Like a 20” wheel with spokes would be OK, but something like a Mag wheel on just would be no good. They wouldn’t think to replace it with a spoked wheel. Silly things like that they won’t realise can be done.
quite commonly a hub will go, and as they can’t get the bits for the bearings, they just rebuild the wheel.
A BMX wheel shouldn’t break, but they wouldn’t have any cone tools or any spare axels at all. So then when it does break it would be pretty much redundant.
If you introduced new components, would they have to supply the tools as well? If you were going to introduce anything new, there is no way to distribute them to all the mechanics. There is no infrastructure for distributing anything really. Anything new would have to be repairable with the tools they already have.
Would it be worth installing something like that though as it would probably last 10 years? It would mean it could take a fatter axel, it won’t bend. But I don’t think axel bending is a problem really. It is the cones wearing out because of the sand, and that would still happen with those wheels.
All the parts are straight from China and pretty much all the lowest possible quality.
So one other aspect I have been thinking about would be having a single front brake that works well, and means there is less that can go wrong. Would that make sense?
The sort of infrastructure they already have is that they bring things in from China. So there is one bike importer of bike stock which we visited in the capital, and he has got a front and back hub and that is it. He hasn’t got any spare parts for them as he only gets in the stuff people are asking for. And they don’t know they can ask for smaller parts than that, so he doesn’t order them in. It is a real sort of simple stock.
The world bicycle relief buffalo bike, uses just one back brake. They really, really don’t like front brakes, the don’t like then at all! When people were younger, they were taught to never use the front brakes. Because in older bikes with traditional rod brakes, if you got any rust on the rim they just lock up so easily and you would just go over the handlebars. So now they have that mind-set that if you touch the
All the parts are straight from China and pretty much all the lowest possible quality. But there are slightly better ones now as people have started to realise better ones last longer. They know if you pay a little
They really, really don’t like front brakes, the don’t like then at all! - 49 -
front brake you are going to fall off. So you definitely couldn’t just have a front brake. So just go for a rear brake, if you want one.
They think the bikes are a great idea, but it is a touch selfish. They know that people with the kids the right age get a bike for free and then the families get to use it for everything. Obviously it makes a big different to schools, and they say it is
When I was out there I regularly used just a front brake. So if a bike came in that had a broken brake, I just put it straight onto the front. As I thought it would mean they couldn’t do skids, they can’t blow a tire out. And it would make it last longer. Which they would. But they would all moan as they just had a front brake, and they said they wouldn’t be able to stop as they wouldn’t want to use it.
School kids end up achieving higher grades, more kids can get to school. fantastic. And not only for that student, but also the other kids trying to catch up so they get a bike as well. So the communities love them, it is a really positive thing. It means there a load of bikes in the community, there is work made for fixing the bikes, work made as people need to manage them at school.
Ideally something like a calliper brake, not a V brake, as it would be less powerful so they couldn’t skid the whole time
School kids end up achieving higher grades, more kids can get to school. And the moment that comes back to the schools from the kids paying their fees is also a huge benefit, and that money goes back into the bikes!
They skid all the time so the tires have really bad patches on them and are completely worn through. So everything else on the bike would be perfect apart from completely word through tires. So you want them to have a front brake, but if you did, they just wouldn’t touch it.
Are the bikes all completely shared? Yeah we can’t stop them being shared amongst the community. It is a problem sometimes. So out there if someone comes up to you and asks “Can I borrow your bike?”, you night have a perfectly good reason to say no, but you can’t. If you say no, the whole town will start to think you are mean and then will sort of start to excluded from everyone. So you have to say yes all the time. At some point you may want something off them, so they will do it back to you.
Ideally something like a calliper brake, not a V brake, as it would be less powerful so they couldn’t skid the whole time. So like a lot of the ones we have here. It also makes the frame easier to make, the don’t need setting up as much. But they do tend to pull against the frame because of the way they are mounted. So if there was some way of supporting that, like a brace, it could stop it from flexing out as much. So maybe look at that. I have seen people before using string and stuff, I think maybe even someone has manufactured something like that.
How are business run locally? You can’t run a business in your own town. Well you can but you won’t be able to charge anyone! As everyone there will be related to you, or be friends with you, you will owe them a favour or something like that. So the whole community are related. Not ancestrally, but extended families and
Themes Just to run over what we talked about earlier. Do the community support what is happening with the bikes for kids?
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relatives.
is crucial. So how it goes together, how things are removed, what needs to be maintained etc. The guys who do the repairs on the side of the road are really quick, and skilled. Not in the same way we are, as in book smart, but they have ways of doing everything as they have experienced every possible problem.
So if you open a business people who live locally will want a huge discount, so the only people run these little bike shops are all from somewhere else. It can’t even be 2 towns down the road, it has to be a fair distance away. It has to be a place where none knows them, there are no links to family, no friends there, so they can actually get paid to do work. But then as you start to get to know people, they will instantly start to ask for discount! So you have to keep on moving. The mechanics who do this fully rely on the income from these things to survive.
What language do they speak out there? Mandinka mainly, but they also speak English. It is their national language and is what is taught in schools. So they can read it. There is a lot of 20+ year olds who’s reading is pretty bad, so giving them a manual of how to repair stuff they would just look at the pictures, get scared, and stop reading it. If there is information they don’t already know their mind doesn’t go “I’ll look it up” they will just leave it. They don’t relate to information like that. They don’t think about a new source of information. Unless they know it already, or get physically shown how to do it, they would just not do it. Or do it a different way and brake it. So if the bottom brackets need a specific tool, they will just cut it out and stick a new one back in.
So if our bikes didn’t need repairing what would happen to them? That is impossible! No bike can never get a puncture, or need a knew tire fitting, or need a buckled wheel fixing, or just need some general fixing up. So all it would do is streamline the process, as big things wouldn’t need repairing anymore. So jobs would be quicker and easier, so they might even be able to get more smaller jobs done. So if they are doing a bottom bracket repair, it will be very easy to do as they will just have a single tool they can use every single time. They won’t have to hunt out special tools, or cut it out of the frame, then spend time welding a new one in. Everything will just be a lot easier for them. So as long as the core things don’t break, they can take care of the little repairs and general maintenance.
Certain parts are more understandable than others. Hub gears people have no idea how they will work. They wouldn’t ever take the cogs of a rear mech, so single speeds are a lot easier. When I showed them how to make 3 different versions of a single speed using different bikes, they were completely blown away. They are just not used to trying things out. They then spent the next 6 months converting bikes that were nakkerd and couldn’t be used into actual working bikes that could be ridden. If you had a freewheel and a chain, it would be pretty easy for them to understand. They know how to tension the chain using dropouts, and they do get that.
No bike can never get a puncture, or need a knew tire fitting, or need a buckled wheel fixing, or just need some general fixing up. The current issues are that they get a bike in, that they either don’t know how to repair (so they brake the bike fixing it), or they get one that is impossible to fix for them. So keeping everything simple, and making it really obvious how to repair
Their parents haven’t been schooled, so these are really the first generation to actually start learning how to do things, and how things work.
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Key findings
This interview set the tone for the rest of the project due to a number of key findings:
They don’t always have the tools needed to repair all the components on the bikes, so many become useless when parts break.
The bikes are used by school children aged 12-20.
If the frame works with parts that available it could practically be used forever.
Most children live far away from schools, maybe around 8km.
The frame needs to be made from steel so it can be welded and repaired.
They can’t afford to buy the bikes outright so they lease them from the schools.
The bikes are used by anyone, for anything, no matter what it is and they break because of this extreme usage.
Money is only considered up to about a month in the future. The live ‘hand to mouth’ whereby they have no savings, they spend what they are paid.
Kids and adults regularly use the same bikes.
The bikes that are sent to The Gambia are in poor condition with many components reaching the end of their lives.
Local repairmen can fix almost any problem, even though it is never done using the textbook method.
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This photo was taken whilst I was cycling to the bicycle workshop
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System analysis
The diagram right gives a rough outline to how the current Bikes4Africa system works. After interviewing the owners of the organisation and a number of their staff it became clear there are many problems with the way it operates.
worked on by prison inmates ―― The more complex bikes are restored in house for efficiency Problems ―― Simpler bikes are sent to the inmates as it educates them about bicycle mechanics and gives work to do whilst in prison ―― The inmate repaired bikes are sometimes not done to the highest of standards ―― Often they are prepared incorrectly and need to be checked over afterwards ―― In house repairs cost a lot for parts and labour as they require skilled workers
Bike’s donated ―― Secondhand bikes are given to Bikes4Africa with a donation ―― Destination helps towards the refurbishment and distribution of the bike ―― There are some rough guidelines to what bikes can be donated ―― Once donated the best bikes are sometimes resoles to make a profit to fund the bikes for Africa ―― Some bikes are also completely inappropriate for the African environment so these are also sold
Benefits ―― Using a new bike frame would mean there is no need to repair the bikes whatsoever. This will greatly reduce the workforce and labour cost
Problems ―― The bikes are extremely varied in design ―― In general they are very old and need a great deal of repair ―― Most of the components are very worn
Shipped to The Gabmia ―― Every six months a container of bikes is sent to the Gambia ―― The bikes are all crammed into a shipping container in no particular order ―― This can sometimes be up to 3 bikes high
Benefits ―― Using newly manufactured bikes would save a lot of time and would mean that none of the problems mentioned above would happen ―― They would be faster to source and there would be a constant supply of them
Problems ―― A lot of damage is caused during the shipping ―― Pedals brake off and punchers occur regularly Benefits ―― Manufacturing bikes in Asia and shipping them directly to Africa would not increase the cost that much
Restored ―― The bikes are restored either in-house by mechanics or sent off site to be - 54 -
Bike’s donated
Leased to Children
Restored
Distributed to Schools
Shipped to The Gambia
Repaired
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Repaired Benefits ―― However this system does work quite well and would compliment a new bicycle frame
―― As the bikes gets damaged during shipping they need to be repaired ―― This is done by local workers in the Gambia working for Jole Rider ―― Most of the damage tends to be relatively superficial
Leased
Problems ―― The process does take additional man- hours that costs more money ―― Some components cannot be replaced so additional work has to be done ―― Most of the damage could be easily avoided if the frames were packaged correctly
―― The schools each have a number of staff in charge of looking after the bikes ―― These staff decide who should receive the bikes ―― That bites are provided to the most needy children, the ones who Live the furthest away and also for the highest achieving students
Benefits ―― If the new bikes were stored correctly no repairs would have to be done ―― This would reduce the cost of this section of the operation
Problems ―― There is no tracking or refined distribution system ―― Bikes often go missing and are very hard to track down ―― Some students are unable to afford the cost of leasing a bike
Distributed Benefits ―― The new bikes will be very easy to recognise ―― It is also possible to tag them uniquely ―― These numbers could then be recorded against the people who received the bike
―― The bikes are then distributed to the local partner schools using existing networks ―― Currently they are just handed out based on required numbers Problems ―― The system is relatively basic and there could be a better distribution plan
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The overly crammed container full of bikes going to Africa
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The scenario
Bikes in Africa are used for 2 main things, transporting people, and transporting goods/items/food. They are used for these functions almost every single day and as you can see from the pictures, they really are tested to the limit. Even thought the bikes provided by Bikes4Africa are primarily used for transporting people they will be used for everything else as well.
People transport There are many problems with transporting additional people on hold second hand frames. Punctures are likely to occur regularly, but worse frame damage is likely to happen. This could be to the flimsy pannier or even to the frame itself. The gear ratios will make it
Images from: (World Cargo Bike, 2014), (WLAfrica, 2014) & (Africa on 2 wheels, 2014) - 58 -
extremely hard to start to accelerate as well.
Transporting goods Similar problems occur when transporting a high number of items, however the main problem is securing these to the frame. An incredibly strong pannier rack will allow a strong base to support these items, and providing anchor points for rope will also help secure the load.
Making a frame that is easier to carry people on, more comfortable for the pillion passengers and safer for them will set the new solution apart from the current offering. Integrating foot pegs and handles may also be beneficial.
Images from: (East Africa Trade Hub, 2014), (Schmickrath, 2014) & (Wikipedia, 2009) - 59 -
Personas
Name: Hassan Age: 17 Occupation: Student
Name: Sona Age: 41 Occupation: Seamstress
Do
Do
Lamin uses the bike to cycle to school every single day. He lives far away, so without it he would be unable to get an education. After school he also uses it to see his friends and occasionally go to the market to get things for himself or more often, his parents.
Sona has 5 children all of which go to school. 2 of them have bikes. The children use them during the day and in the evening she uses the bike to deliver garments to her customers. She also uses a bike to go the to the market, and for vising gamily in the evenings.
Think
Think
Every day he knows how much of a difference the bike makes but he only sees is at as means to get to school. He does not look after or appreciate the bike until it is not there.
She wants the best for her children and see’s how valuable the bikes are for her older children attending the senior school farther away. She wants them to do well so they can keep using the bike and so she can use it in the evenings.
Feel Feel He really wants to keep the bike so keeps working hard at school so he can make certain the school will allow him to loan it of them. Without it he can’t get there, but crucially, can’t use it after school.
She feels all her children deserve a bike and wants the other children to receive one. She want’s the best for her family and her children more than anything.
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Name: Lamin Age: 35 Occupation: Bike Technician
Name: Demba Age: 38 Occupation: Teacher
Do
Do
He fixes all the bikes that need repairing and looks after new shipments when the are sent from the UK. This is his only job so relies fully on the income from his work.
Demba is a teacher at a secondary school at teaches Maths and the Sciences. He uses a bike to get to and from school every single day. Think
Think He does see the benefit of the bikes, however he has the job as it pays well, not because it helps people. He has been doing it for around 7 years so is good at what he does, but he has a tendency to only do what is needed.
He has noticed how much harder students with bikes actually work so really wants to support the program and ideally would love all his students to have bikes. He isn’t sure how this will happen but want’s to support any program that will help this happen.
Feel
Feel
Hassan is very thankful for he work as many people can’t get a job. However he does think the work is extremely hard, especially around the times of the shipments. He is also expected to work ‘Western work hours’ which are more than his friends and family do. He sees the job as relatively laborious.
He feels responsible for the students as a whole and values them and their futures greatly. He sees all young people as future leaders of his nation and wants them to excel in any field they choose. Because of this he pushes himself to engage them as a teacher and inspire them. He wants to get alongside them and support them.
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There are a number of charities running similar projects across Africa
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Market research
This research is not on the existing solutions but on companies who operate similar services in developing countries. Looking at what they do and gaining an understanding for why the do this may influence the design of the product. There are a number of charities who do this however the three most successful ones are World Bicycle Relief, Re-Cycle and Coop Africa. The first is a US company who has been running since 2005 and Re-Cycle is a UK charity which was founded in 2003; so both have many years of experience and how to be successful in this field. The core difference between the two is that WBR produces their own bicycle, whereas Re-Cycle is closer to Jole Rider in that they donate second hand bicycles. Coop Africa are a Dutch organisation who operate in many different ways providing bicycles and researching their benefits in Africa.
Education A bicycle brings mobility, and mobility brings opportunity. This is their main focus and have distributed 42,212 bicycles for this cause. They say how these bikes, on average, bring a 59% increase in academic performance to kids who cycle to school and they have allowed kids in rural areas to gain access to education. They say how the families also benefit greatly from these bicycles and one example is how clinic visits for children under 5 years old have doubled. This is due to parents being able to transport their kids over long distances to where the clinics are located. The final improvement is that children with bikes have, on average, a 14% increase in attendance. (Uk.worldbicyclerelief.org, 2013) Microfinance This is the next main are of indicated benefit. Over 3500 bikes have been issued for this purpose and it has been proven that mobility leads to new market access. Individuals who have received these bikes are now able to travel further away from there home towns, and are no longer limited to their local market. This means they can take their goods to new
World Bicycle Relief The organisation has 3 key areas which the believe a bike has impact: Education, Market Access, Health, and all of these are due to creating Mobility.
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Testing in Africa, (Slezak in Zambia, 2014)
places where they are able to sell for a higher value. In fact it has been shown that on average there is a 50% increase in profit, but most importantly over 4 years they over $450 in transport cost.
Key functions
Healthcare Mobility also brings treatment as 23,625 healthcare workers have been provided with bicycles. This allows them to reach more clients and has brought a 40% increase in these visits.
―― Assemble bikes locally with proper tools and close attention to quality.
Jobs World Bicycle Relief has trained 913 people in basic bicycle maintenance providing them with jobs and income. They also provide a network to support the bikes around Africa.
―― Establish maintenance infrastructure by training local field mechanics.
―― Design, source and manufacture rugged bicycles engineer specifically for rural terrain and load carrying.
―― Deliver bicycles through purchases, work-to-own and study-to-own programs.
―― Evaluate what they do through independent studies. ―― Communicate program results to donors and partners.
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Re-Cycle
have extremely similar outcomes to that of the World Bicycle Relief, however this is done through second hand bicycles. Their connection with TU Delft is that final year students work closely with the company to work out how a second hand frame can be developed and adapted to suit their needs more closely. I consulted the student Eline Meesters to understand how the project progressed, however the main focus of these discussion was always on her visit to Uganda, and advice on how to work with people in Africa.
As mentioned Re-Cycle are a UK based charity and in many ways are very similar to Bikes4Africa. So far they have shipped 133 containers totalling 50,134 second hand bikes. They send the majority of their bicycles to Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Zambia and these are used for many different purposes. Their marketing states how the bicycles become a delivery van, an ambulance, a water truck and a school bus; and they are adamant in the difference a bike makes in so many different ways.
Findings from these organisations Coop Africa
Reading through the reports these companies produced gave clear insight into the sheer level of impact something as simple as a bike can bring. I was always aware of how they were useful but only though looking at the effects did it actually become clear about how bikes are used in endless ways and how measurable this impact actually is.
Cycle Out of Poverty Africa are based in the Netherlands and work closely with TU Delft, hence my awareness of them and my connection with people doing a similar project to the one this report is focussed on. Their 3 main focusses are Bike4Work, Bike4School and Bike4Care; all of which
Final outcome, (TU Delft - Eline’s Bike, 2014)
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Buffalo Bike
Over the last decade there have been many attempts at designing a new frame for Africa. However there has yet to be a clear success in doing this as there is nothing even close to a market leader currently. The 4 main bicycle frames analised are the Buffalo Bike,produced by World Bicycle Relief, the Kona bike, the bicycle designed by TU Delft and finally the Hoima bike. All of these have been designed by completely different types of people, yet have a similar focus.
The Buffalo Bike is designed and produced by World Bicycle Relief and has been in existence for many years. It was created specifically for load carrying and for use in rural Africa. Theoretically this should be one of the best products on the market, and it is one of the most widely produced. However there are still many problems with the bicycle frame and its components.
Buffalo Bike, (The Bike - World Bicycle Relief - USA, 2014)
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General features
Design highlights
The pannier rack carries up to 100KG of load allowing it to carry large amounts of water or goods.
It uses extremely strong heavy gauge steel tubing, meaning it will last for many years. A rear light is integrated into the frame making it extremely safe to use on busy unlit roads at night.
The seat is comfortable but most importantly extremely durable. It uses a stem mount which, even though old fashioned, is extremely simple in it’s design making it easy to repair. It is also height adjustable to cater for different people.
Design flaws The pannier rack is flimsy and not an integral part of the frame. It is only bolted on to the seat post.
The handle bards can also be reversed to allow for small children to use the bike.
A coaster (back pedal) brake is used with no hand brakes. This is an ineffective brake system, and if it fails means there is no back up. The technology also means a special hub has to be used, and these are not commonly available in Africa.
It has integrated mud guards both front and rear. Standard 1/8 chain is used making it very easy to replace.
The hubs used on the wheels are also not that standard meaning they may be hard to find replacements.
High impact plastic pedals are used on forged steel crank axels making them strong and easy to replace.
There are many additional features and components such as a chain guard and mud flap attachments that may prove to be excessive and unnecessary.
A high capacity stand is used to make it easy to load the bike. The wheels are relatively strong and can hold up to 300KG in total.
Table 1
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Kona Africa Bike
Kona is a multinational bicycle company who produces consumer bikes for sale around the world. One of these bikes is the Africa Bike. It was created for 2 extremely different markets, developing countries and also the European and US market. Therefore many, many compromises had to be made. However certain aspects of the design are of great interest, and it does a few things extremely well. This bike is a retail product and was primarily made to be sold with the profits being used to fund the charitable
side of Kona where they provide these frames to people in developing countries. Therefore the focus is on the western market meaning the actual usage situation in Africa is perhaps a side or secondary thought. This is the third variant of the design and the latest feature is the integration of structural pannier rack on the rear of the bike, as well as a basket on the front. They say the use for this is to carry your sister on the back, and her flowers in the front. This just shows how usage in Africa is an afterthought.
Kona Africa Bike, (Kona Africa bike, 2014)
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General features
Design highlights
Standard 1/8 chain is used making it very easy to replace.
Step through frame making it easy to get on and off for girls and ladies.
High impact plastic pedals are used on forged steel crank axels making them strong and easy to replace.
Extremely strong structural pannier rack integrated into the frame. Strengthening the overall geometry whilst providing a way to carry people.
Simplified chain guard. Quick adjust seat making it easier for children an adults to use the bike.
Design flaws The frame is made from Aluminium which does make the frame considerably lighter, however it is by far the worst material for use in Africa. An aluminium frame makes it impossible for African’s to repair or modify the frame as they do not have the facilities to weld Aluminium, only steel.
Soft grip handle bar grips making it a more comfortable ride. An integrated simple lock makes securing the bike much easier. It uses a standard calliper brake on the front and a hub brake on the rear. This provides 2 methods of slowing down.
The basket on the front is relatively redundant for use in Africa as it is not strong enough to carry anything of significance.
The integrated mud guards are simple and are likely to be quite effective.
The handlebars are overly complex and will be deemed unnecessary by Africans.
It uses a stem mount which, even though old fashioned, is extremely simple in it’s design making it easy to repair. It is also height adjustable to cater for different people.
Table 2
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TU Delft Bike
Every year TU Delft students take on the task of designing a bike for Africa in conjunction with Coop Africa. This is done as part of their Masters course and the module last for around 6 months. They spend this time focussing on a certain usage scenario and then develop a bicycle for this. Eline’s bike is currently in development so last years outcome was analysed instead. The focus of this frame design was on African entrepreneurs, specifically people who need to travel distance carrying their goods. Therefore
the biggest need was in providing a number of racks to could carry loads of different size, shape and weight. The bicycles are also commonly used as taxi’s (Boda Boda Bikes) so they need to cater for this as well. The frame does solve a number of these problems, however the dutch students seem adamant in creating a bike in a typically dutch style, only making a few changes to suit the new scenario. These are somewhat successful, however it seems they quite often miss the point of the actual project.
TU Delft Bike, (Kamano, 2010)
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General features
Design highlights
Standard 1/8 chain is used making it very easy to replace.
Dual racks both front and rear make it extremely easy to carry large amount of load in different sizes.
Simplified chain guard. The kick stand is effective and simple. It uses a stem mount which, even though old fashioned, is extremely simple in it’s design making it easy to repair. It is also height adjustable to cater for different people.
The simple handlebar design and grips make it extremely easy to maintain and replace if needed.
It uses a standard calliper brake on the front and a hub brake on the rear. This provides 2 methods of slowing down.
Design flaws The frame is typically Dutch in style and to maintain this appearance uses dual top tubes which are generally considered excessive and only used for show.
The integrated mud guards are simple and are likely to be quite effective. Extremely comfortable seat for long distance travel.
The small front wheel will be impossible to replace once the tire becomes worn or the wheel itself brakes.
Bicycle bell to improve safety. The long wheel base means it will be susceptible to flexing which may cause damage over time. The bespoke steering system is by no means standard and therefore local mechanics will find it difficult to repair.
Table 3
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Hoima bike
The Hoima Bike is one of the most well documented Africa bike projects available and was done by Jason A. Morris who is the Assistant Professor of Industrial Design at Western Washington University. This design process has been mentioned earlier in the report as his approach to the project was extremely similar to mine. Mainly because the focus was on designing for people in emerging markets and less so in technical bicycle design. All his work is available online, and was thoroughly studied as part of this research
phase. He also created a 1 hour Youtube documentary on his process which was incredibly useful. Not only because of his findings, but also in the mistakes he made on the way. The bike was designed with Ugandan Boda Boda riders in mind, but he quickly became aware of how the bikes impact is much more far reaching than this, so ensured the bicycle could also be adapted for their needs. The initial design work was done in the USA before he travelled to Uganda to test the bicycle.
Hoima final prototype, (Hoima Bicycle, 2014)
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General features
Design highlights
Long extended frame to make it possible to carry multiple passengers.
Extremely strong yet simple frame design. Allows for a lot of load to be placed on the back.
Single speed drive system making it easy to ride.
The rear mag style wheel is very strong. It is designed primarily as a bicycle taxi not as a day to day vehicle. Design flaws Uses an Ahead stem which is very hard to replace in developing countries. An oversized chain is hard to replace. The rear wheel is near impossible to replace. The extended frame encourages overloading on the pannier rack. The frame is not standard so it may be hard to replace parts.
Table 4
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Summary of existing bicycles These bicycles have been extremely beneficial to people around the world and their impact is easy to see. However it is clear that current solutions have many flaws in their final designs, and these can mainly be explained through iterative design. Most frames start of as an existing bike and have been adapted and given additions until the original frame can no longer
be recognised. This approach may work in some ways, however it limits the end result to something with a huge amount of add-ons, and overly complex designs with features that are unlikely to be used by Africans. From looking at these products, steps must be taken during the process to ensure the design does not take too much from existing solutions and remains a
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completely new innovative design. It is also imperative that the final solution is simplified as much as possible, taking away all additional components and leaving only what is necessary. It is clear that each scenario has it’s own unique requirements, so designing a base frame from which the user can build upon seems the best solution
One usage scenario, (Bikes 4 Life, 2014)
Designin g a base f rame f rom which the user can build upon seems the best solution f or Af rica
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Collaborations
Before the core of the project began it became imperative to look at companies who will be able to assist in the development of the bicycle. This may be in the production of prototypes or in the actual implementation of the product at the later stage.. Below is a diagram
depicting who these people could be. The key people needed for this project will be local manufacturers who can help with the finishing and welding of prototypes, and also larger companies who may be able to help with funding for travel and design development.
Distribution - Repairmen - Existing network (Warehouse & schools) Parts - Manufacturers - Distributors
Government - Promotion - Analysis - Additional support
What help is needed?
Bicycle design - Books - Professionals - Local workshops Financial support - Grants - Personal funding - Corporate sponsorship - Collaborative company In The Gambia In the UK
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Initial prototype - Donor frame - University workshop - Local manufacturer - Donated components
Final prototype - Local companies who can help with some aspects of welding and painting. - Larger companies who may be able to build the whole prototype from drawings
James Dyson Foundation
Dave Granshaw Foundation
Jole RIder
A ÂŁ1000 grant was received from the JDF in support of the project, and this funding will allow for testing and Ethnography research to be done in The Gambia. Their network and contacts will also mean the project will receive some great press and is likely to gain some publicity.
This organisation provided over ÂŁ1200 of funding to go towards travel to The Gambia but also for the building of prototypes and materials needed throughout the project. They also featured the project online.
Jole Rider provided the contacts in The Gambia and also introduced me to people who proved to be extremely useful for the project. These interview allowed me to gain some insight into life in Africa before even visiting there. They also provided a donor frame for the first prototype.
The schools partnered with Jole Rider across The Gambia - 77 -
Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear
Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Project stakeholders
From what has been discovered so far it appears there are three main stakeholders in addition to Bikes4Africa. These are the Schools, the children, and the parents of these children. All have different desires and all want to get different things from a bicycle. Looking at what they actually want meant that throughout the project I had their actual needs in mind and specifically meant these peoples needs were the focus when putting together the development plan and the first specification. As stated before, the project is not about developing a new bike, it is about understanding how to positively impact these peoples lives.
What are their major concerns? ―― Supporting children in the Gambia ―― Reducing the cost of what they do ―― Reducing the cost of the project ―― Simplifying the current system
The method used to analyse the stakeholders is the TU Delft process. There are 4 questions focussed on who they are and what they want, and then 4 questions that allow us to see what they can bring to the project.
How can they contribute to the project? ―― They are the core drivers behind the project ―― They can help in the provision of bicycle frames and components ―― They had a lot of existing knowledge regarding the scenario
Bikes4Africa
Are they needed for implementation? ―― They are the core people needed for implementation ―― They will be in charge of the implementation in the UK and The Gambia ―― Without them, implementation will be near impossible
How do they see the problem? ―― The current distribution method is not very cost-effective ―― The bikes did not last very long in the Gambia ―― The bikes need many hours of work before they are in a good enough condition to send to the Gambia ―― There is not a regular supply of bikes that are appropriate for this scenario
Who are they? ―― UK based charity ―― Supply second hand bikes to The Gambia ―― Collect used bikes in the UK What are their resources? ―― Large collection of secondhand frames ―― People who have lived and worked in The Gambia ―― Knowledge of the current system ―― Contact with people in the Gambia ―― In-place shipping methods ―― Lots of spare parts and components
Can they inhibit the project? ―― They are essential to the project through their knowledge containers and existing work ―― However if necessary other companies offering similar services do exist
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Are they affected by the issues at stake? ―― Not directly, but as they are a charity they are emotionally involved and they do not do this for financial reasons
children ―― They can implement the distribution of the new bikes Are they needed for implementation? ―― They are the main way the bikes get to the children ―― This will be the most effective way of doing it, and therefore are an asset
The Schools Who are they? ―― They are the schools Jole Rider has linked with in the Gambia ―― They are government based schools both primary and secondary
Can they inhibit the project? ―― Definitely, as if they do not believe the new bike is affected they will not distribute them to the children
Whare are their resources? ―― They have great knowledge about the children ―― They have qualified teachers who know about how things have worked in the past ―― Day have some funding from the government and the children’s fees
Are they affected by the issues at stake? ―― They aren’t directly responsible for the children and therefore the issues of the children are practically their own ―― The staff of the schools are also likely to use a new bicycles
What are their major concerns? ―― They don’t want the bikes to cost the schools any more money ―― They want to make sure the new bikes are just as affective and the old ones ―― They want to make sure the project actually happens
The Children Who are they? ―― They are the people who will use the bike every single day ―― They will be the primary end users of the bike ―― They are children aged 6 to 18
How do they see the problem? ―― Currently they require a bicycle mechanic on-campus and tho costs them additional money ―― They also want more bicycles so all the children can have them
Where are their resources? ―― They have little to no resources What are their major concerns? ―― They want a bike that’ll be suited for how they use them ―― They want to bike to be affordable so it won’t cost their parents too much ―― They want the bikes to look good when they are riding them
How can they contribute to the project? ―― They can provide knowledge and training to children and mechanics ―― They can provide some funding from the
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How do they see the problem? ―― They get frustrated by the bikes breaking every single day ―― They get annoyed when it takes a long time to repair the bikes ―― The bikes are regularly impossible to repair and this means they have no transport
What are their resources? ―― They have very little re-sources financially, but still pay the fee for their children’s bikes What are their major concerns? ―― Their main concern is the cost of the bike itself ―― They want the bike to suit the needs of the children, but also it is important for them that the bike suit their needs
How can they contribute to the project? ―― They can provide information on how they use the bikes ―― They can give feedback during the design of the bike ―― They can help test the bike
How do they see the problem? ―― For them the main problem is the cost of the repair each time the bike breaks ―― This is very apparent when certain components are not available for the bike they have paid for ―― They want it to be very simple to maintain
Are they needed for implementation? ―― They are not needed for implementation as such, but they will be the recipients of these bicycles Can they inhibit the project? ―― If they do not want the bike it is unlikely that companies and the schools will distribute the bicycles to them ―― Therefore the children should be treated as the customer and the product designed for them specifically
How can they contribute to the project? ―― They provide the funding for each bike ―― They can explain to us how the bikes are used by themselves and the children Are they needed for implementation? ―― Without their money the bicycles cannot be bought ―― The children need their parents to pay for the bicycles
Are they affected by the issues at stake? ―― They are directly affected by the current bicycles ―― The issues with the current products affect their day-to-day lives ―― A new bicycle will instantly impact their lives
Can they inhibit the project? ―― By refusing to pay for the bicycles, no children will receive these products Are they affected by the issues at stake? ―― They are directly affected by the issues that affect their children and themselves ―― Secondhand bicycles bring a lots of positive impact to them, however when they break it becomes very frustrating
The parents Who are they? ―― They are the parents of children with bikes ―― They are the people who pay for bikes
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One of the families I stayed with preparing food in their home
The project is not about developing a new bike, it is about understanding how to positively impact these peoples lives.
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Some children who receive bikes from Jole Rider
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Opportunities
All the previous research allowed me to see the major flaws with the current solution of second hand bikes. These were split into 4 main areas of interest and will become the focus of the design and are entirely based upon research which has been summarised in the report. These were then discussed with he client and my tutor and confirmed before pushing further with the project.
bike. Creating a frame that is compatible with components that can be locally sourced will mean the frame can be sent out there complete and will allow for parts to be replaced as needed. My research has shown how each person in Africa has very different needs to the next, and it is common practice to adapt the bike frames to suit these needs. Many of the bespoke Africa bike solutions try and cater for all of these needs, however this tends to result in an overly complex bike with many components that are not needed by everyone. Creating a base frame that can be built upon and adapted by the owner will reduce the cost in production and will also make it easier to adapt the bicycle. It is also vital that the bicycle can be adapted to suit different users as the bike will be used by people aged 6-60 and therefore needs to fit people of different heights.
The first opportunity is to design a frame specifically for the scenario in Africa. The second hand bikes that are sent out there are completely irrelevant for their needs as they have been designed primarily for personal transport in the western world. Creating a frame that can not only carry large loads, but that can also carry people over distance will be a completely new product to the market. There are some existing solutions that offer something along these lines, however they do not fully fill this need. A cheap to manufacture yet very strong frame will make a huge difference to the users.
The final area is regarding repairability. The bikes get put under a lot of stress in rural Africa and parts will break, so it is important to ensure that components can be replaced easily, that minimal or already owned tools can be used to do this, and that the frame is made from steel so it can be repaired if needed.
The next opportunity is perhaps the most ignored with current solutions. The majority of frames, second hand and bespoke for Africa, are fully assembled before being shipped there. This means a number of the components can’t actually be purchased locally, so when the parts inevitably become damaged beyond repair there is no way to replace them. This means the bikes has to be scrapped, or mended in a crude way lowering the overall effectiveness and reliability of the
If all these core opportunities are addressed a well rounded design will be produced that will be cheap to manufacture, have a long life, and will also have a positive economical impact.
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Suited for the usage scenario
Uses available locally available components
Can be repaired with ease
Can be adapted to suit the users needs
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Development plan
1 Design specification
5 Prototype 1.0
Creating a design specification will outline the user requirements discovered from the research phase, and this will be used to evaluate the final design.
The first prototype will include all the selected components and will be a bespoke frame design, created specifically for the needs discovered during research.
2 Component selection
6 Testing
Components will be analysed based upon function and cost to help decide which will be the most appropriate for the project. This will be done prior to any design work as these will make the foundation of the product.
This will be by far the most useful aspect to the project. Visiting The Gambia, living with the end users, talking to them and generally immersing myself in the culture will provide essential insights. It will also provide an opportunity to test the prototype in its final surroundings.
3 Ideation 7 Analysis Sketching will be used to quickly draw out the overall shape of the frame and how it will interface with the chosen components.
Taking a deep look at the findings from testing will lead to many changes in the design, and will ensure the frame design is what the end users actually want and need.
4 Models These quick and dirty mock ups from plastic tubing will allow for fast iterations in the design to be made. This will be much quicker than using steel and the results will be just as useful.
8 Prototype 2.0 The second prototype will be the final one I will make and will again be a completely bespoke hand made product. This will take into account the previous research and will also be adapted in conjunction with the findings from testing in The Gambia.
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Design specification
(M) Mandatory requirement. This feature must be built into the product. (O) Optional requirement. This feature can be built into the product if the need is there. (D) Desirable requirement. This should be built into the product unless cost is to high. (E) Possible future enhancement. This feature should be considered for future adaptations. 1 Target Market 1.1 Primary Market ―― Children in The Gambia aged between 12 and 20 years. (M) ―― The parents of these children. (D) ―― People living in The Gambia as a whole. (O) 1.2 Future Markets ―― Children living in developing countries. (D) ―― People living in developing countries. (O) ―― People living in UK, USA and Europe. (E) 2 User Requirements ―― It must hold at least 2 people in a safe and comfortable manner. (M) ―― It must be adjustable to be used by 8 year old children and also adults. (M) ―― It must be able to carry >100kg loads exceeding the standard requirements of a bike. (M) ―― These loads must be easy to secure for safe transport. (M) ―― The bicycle could customisable to suit the requirements of its user. (O) ―― The bicycle should have an integrated locking system. (E) 3 Maintenance ―― It must need minimal repair throughout its lifespan. (M) ―― It should require minimal upkeep to keep it running. (D) ―― Parts of the frame should be easy to remove and replace if damage occurs. (O) 4 Product Lifespan 4.1 Prototype Lifespan ―― It must last 2 weeks of testing. (M) ―― It should last up to a year of extended testing. (D)
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4.2 Production Model Lifespan ―― It must last 15 years with minimal repair and upkeep. (M) ―― It should last 30 years with some maintenance and repair. (D) ―― It should be upgradable and adaptable to last an indefinite amount of time. (E) 5 Pricing 5.1 Prototype ―― It must cost under £400 to produce. (M) ―― The additional components must cost under £100. (M) 5.2 Manufacturing cost of production model ―― It must cost under £40 to produce the frame. (M) ―― The additional components must cost under £10. (M) ―― The total unit should cost under £30 to be delivered anywhere in the world. (E) 6 Education ―― The bicycle must include a manual on how to maintain the bicycle correctly. (M) ―― The frame should include indications on what needs to be maintained. (D) ―― The frame should outline the components that are used by the bicycle. (D) 7 Environment ―― If possible the product life cycle should be sustainable. (D) 8 Performance ―― It must be usable on roads with large ruts and an inconsistent surface. (M) ―― It must contain no electronics. (M) ―― The product must be comfortable to ride for up to 10km. (M) 9 Size and Weight ―― A Gambian child aged 12 must be able to life and move the bicycle. (M) ―― It should be designed for packaging in a shipping container. (O) ―― It must be lightweight to reduce shipping cost. (O) 10 Standard Components ―― It must use parts readily available in The Gambia. (M) ―― These parts must be removable using a minimal amount of tooling. (M) 11 Materials ―― It must be made from Steel to allow for welding repairs. (M)
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Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define
Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Justification of component selection
Handlebars There are many different types and shapes of handle bar and each have their own benefits The selected type were chosen as they are extremely easy to tide with, can be flipped to make it possible to be used by both children and adults, and are also easy to replace. (Bikeforums.net, 2014)
Brakes According to the interview with McKinven it is only important to use a single rear brake. Caliper brakes will be used as the more modern V-brakes cause to much friction allowing the children to lock the back wheel skid and wear the tires out rapidly. (Urban Velo, 2011)
Stem There are 2 main types of bike stem; Ahead and quill. Ahead are a more modern type but are commonly less available in developing countries. A quill stem also allows for easy height adjustment allowing the bike to be used by different people. (Wikipedia Stem, 2014)
Wheels The wheels are obviously a crucial part of the bike. Various discussions and general awareness point to a 26� wheel size, this is because this is a standard mountain bike size and is available in many markets. A steel rim should be used as they are cheap and easy to repair. (Old Glory MTB, 2014)
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Forks Most mountain bikes use forks with suspension integrated. However these components are extremely expensive and are not essential for Africans. Therefore standard solid front forks will be used. These are extremely strong, need no maintenance and are very cheap. (Bike Magic, 2012)
Material The main part of the new design will be regarding the frame body. Bicycle frames are typically made from either Steel, Aluminium or Carbon Fiber. Both Carbon and Aluminium are incredibly expensive, and using Steel will allow the frame to be repaired locally with ease. (Kiwibikes.co.nz, 2014)
Geometry No existing frame designs exist that are suitable so a bespoke frame will be designed. This will be the main focus of the project and will require many iterations. It is clear a pannier rack will be needed and that it will also need to interface will all the selected components. (Metal Guru, 2013)
Crank The crank and chainset are the main drive of the bike. Many frames sent to The Gambia use different gears, however according to McKinven these are rarely used and tend to brake. Therefore a low ratio single speed crank will be used as they are simple and very hard wearing. (Cord, 2014)
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Pedals There are many different types of pedal, standard plastic and metal ones, but also clip in and strap pedals. The most appropriate pedals for Africa are standard plastic pedals as they are cheapest and are also completely corrosion resistant. They also include reflectors. (Urbanvelo, 2014)
Gear ratio The ratio of the front to back cogs determine the gearing of the bike making it easier to accelerate or easier to reach a higher top speed. A standard single speed ratio of 46/16 will be used, as this has been proven the most popular by the single speed community. (Alexandergrant, 2013)
Seat The cheapest seat will be chosen for use on the bike, however as a standard seat post will be used any seat could theoretically be fitted. A quick release height adjustment clamp will be used to allow the bike to be used by different people very easily. (Richardnorth.net, 2014)
Mud guards Mud guards are present on a number of bikes designed for Africa, however they are only needed for half the year and often bikes are not used so much in the rainy season. But they may still be important to have to protect the children’s school uniform during the rainy season. (Thebikelist.co.uk, 2014)
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Pannier The pannier rack at the back is the most crucial feature of the bike. Currently no frame fully fits this need, so it will be designed to be a structural part of the frame. This will make it extremely strong giving great balance to the frame and the load put on the rack. (Bike Magic, 2012)
Foot pegs Riding on the back of a bike is relatively difficult, and this can be extremely tiring over longer distances. Having a place to put your feet makes this a great deal more comfortable and the most common place to put them is on the axel. This will be done in a similar style to a BMX bike. (Rapgenius, 2014)
Trolly pin As shown in the research it is common practice to attach additional trollies onto the rear of the bike. This currently done through quite crude means so it may be beneficial to integrate a strong trolly pin on the bike frame. Therefore allowing additional parts to be attached with ease. (Instructables, 2014)
Mount points Extremely large loads are put onto bikes and these are tied down using straps. The new frame/pannier rack should have mounting points for these straps making it extremely easy to firmly tie down these loads. This should make the ride much more balanced. (Cyclechat, 2014)
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Prototype 1.0
After choosing the initial components it was decided to find a frame that was compatible with all the selected parts. This was chosen from the 200+ frames Bikes4Africa had in storage before being sent out to Africa. The chosen bike used a ladies drop style frame as this would allow people of different heights to get on and off the bike. It used components
that were apparently readily available in The Gambia including an American style bottom bracket, simple brake callipers and basic brake levers. The American bottom bracket was also chosen as it is extremely hard wearing and according to McKinven, very strong as it is made from minimal components.
A standard quill stem
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The first prototype frame in the Bikes4Africa facility
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Extremely cheap yet functional brake levers
These were purchased in The Gambia
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An American bottom bracket partnered with cheap cranks and plastic pedals
Standard ratio crank and 1/8 chain
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Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions
Co-Design (Iteration 1) Ethnography Research Co-Design Final Concept
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Initial ideation
Bicycle design in some ways is a relatively simple endeavor as some aspects of the design are quite standard. Of course extremely ‘out the box’ designs can be created, however when cost reduction is at the focal point, and the bikes have to be maintained by locals it is very sensible to stick to a frame based upon standard geometry. Therefore early on it was decided a 3 triangle frame would be used; one for the main body, one for the rear wheel and one for the rear pannier rack. Very quick sketching was used to discover various designs and these were fed back to the client and various bike experts, including James Lamb, to decide which
design would be the most appropriate. The designs were kept as simple as possible as the focus has always been on cost reduction, and any complex frame design would instantly increase the cost of manufacture. At the point single perspective drawings were used as they gave an excellent overview of the frame shape and mean 30+ iterations could be drawn out very, very quickly. James Lamb advised to try and get through the sketch phase as fast as possible and to move into 3D modelling as it gave much more freedom and would make it easier to visualise.
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Initial sketches
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Model making
PVC tubing was chosen to make the models from. This is available in various diameters and can be worked with in a similar way to steel tubing. To speed up the process, duct tape was used to join the tubing together to make quick mock ups of the frame designs. The process was extremely fast and allowed many different iterations to be made.
The focus was to determine the overall size of the pannier rack and what would be an appropriate frame shape. This techniques was also used to see how different dimensions affected the ride height and made it possible to see how people of different heights could use the frame
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A selection of the quick mock ups showing design progress - 107 -
Inspiration
Strong rear frame a sidecar (Bicyclesmodified, 2011)
Off road rack (Mtbr Forums, 2012)
Very strong rear rack (Upadowna, 2014)
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Strong rear build with bags (Bfayer, 2013)
Pierced tube seat tube (Brooklynmachineworks, 2010)
Extra strong forks (Brooklynmachineworks, 2010)
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Solutions
From the ideation and model making it became clear there were 3 possible frame designs. These are shown opposite and each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Design flaws The frame shape is quite aggressive and is not the most attractive design. Design 3
Design 1
Overview The design is quite different from the previous 2 versions as it has no drop through frame and is of a more standard shape. It has an integrated pannier rack and uses a curved top tube to lower it slightly.
Overview A low step through style frame will allow almost anyone of any height to use the bike. It uses a pierced tube style seat post making the frame geometry incredibly strong with great structure.
Design highlights The frame structure will be extremely strong as the triangles are very large and also have a lot of spacing.
Design highlights An extremely strong pannier rack allows for the bike to be loaded up with a lot of goods, and makes it easy for passengers to ride on the rear of the bike.
Design flaws The frame design uses a lot of curved tubing making manufacturing expensive as it adds additional steps to the process. The height of the top tube will also make it harder for smaller children to use the bicycle.
Design flaws The curved angle on the pannier rack reduces the possible loading area and may also increase manufacturing cost. Design 2
It is quite clear that Design 2 is the most appropriate frame shape as it full fills the majority of the user needs discovered during research and should also be quite cheap to manufacture and produce.
Overview The frame is almost identical to Design 1 however this frame drops the curved pannier rack and is replaced with standard joint
Again I tried to move through this stage as fast as possible to ensure real, full-scale steel prototypes were made to allow for actual testing. It is much more beneficial to knock out something and get feedback from that actual design than it is to spend a long time doing theoretical iteration.
Design highlights The design has all the benefits of the previous frame but also is very cheap to manufacture as there are no complex curves in the design and this will reduce manufacturing cost.
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Design 1
Design 2
Design 3
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Final concept before full scale test prototypes were made
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Feedback
The design shown left is based upon the chosen solution and now includes the additional components such as mud guards, chain guard, rear brake and pedals.
children to add the component if the saw it as necessary. The other key change was to greatly simplify the mud guard and I was encouraged to make it from metal rather than a plastic case. This would not only strengthen it, but would also make it possible to minimise the design.
This design was then taken to Bikes4Africa for a feedback session to see what their thoughts were. The overall impression was extremely positive and they agreed that the frame structure would be great for the use scenario in The Gambia. However they did suggest a few key changes.
We also discussed how the bikes should actually be provided to The Gambia and it became quite clear how it would be so much simpler if we provided the frame rather than a full bike. Therefore from this point forward we made sure that the we focussed on design a simple frame that the user could then purchase components for upon delivery. (Bikes4Africa, 2014)
Firstly the mud guards should be removed. They stated how this was because they are generally not deemed necessary and would add additional cost to the frame. They said it would be a lot more beneficial to not include them and then allow the
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Time Plan 3.0
October Research design for emerging markets Create bespoke design process Interviews with professionals November IRE Evening Develop project development plan Research bicycle design December VIVA’s Interim report Research plan January Ethnography research in The Gambia Analysis of research Interviews Component analysis February Prototype 1.0 Testing and frame adaptations Prototype 2.0 March Prototype testing in The Gambia Testing analysis Prototype 3.0 April Future steps Design for manufacture
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Reasons for these changes
The time plan has stayed almost identical to the previous ones however a few significant changes had to be made regarding the prototypes. Initially it was planned to make both prototypes from scratch allowing them to be completely bespoke, however the focus of the project has been on understanding user
needs and not on the technical design of bike geometry. Therefore to save time and keep the focus on the usability of the design, myself and the collaborative company decided both prototypes should be built upon existing frames. Thereby speeding up the iterative design process and making testing possible.
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Prototype 2.0
The second prototype was the first full prototype and was built around the frame used for Prototype 1.0. The main components added were the pannier rack and chain guards, but the primary reason
for the prototype was to allow me to take it to The Gambia to get feedback from the end users and see how they would actually use it day-to-day. This was quick to make yet extremely effective.
The chain guard was hand forged before being welded to the frame
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The frame was sandblasted back to raw metal to allow new parts to be welded on
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Welding on the chain guard
Cutting lengths for the pannier rack
Tidying up the frame attachments
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The completed frame before being painted and components attached
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The building of the second prototype went extremely well and the main components of the pannier rack and chain guard were integrated into the frame. Doing this all by hand allowed me to see how easy it
was to adapt a frame and the simplicity of the design and how easy it would be to manufacture was clear. The components used were the ones decided upon during research and the frame was ready to test.
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The integrated pannier rack
Simple handle bars and brake lever
Integrated simple chain guard
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Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design
Ethnography research Co-Design Final Concept
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Overview of experience I visited The Gambia for 10 days and during this time immersed myself in the culture. I lived at a local lodge where I was the only guest and did not see a single European person all week. It was an incredible experience of which I have had nothing like before, and not only allowed the prototype but also opened my eyes to see how real innovation can actually affect
people in everything that they do. The Gambia is firmly a developing country where many people are not struggling to survive, but they have nothing else more than what is needed. They have food, water and clothes but absolutely nothing else. I spent a great deal of time with the local Gambians in their homes, visiting where they worked, and
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where they shopped. I took as many photographs as possible to record the experience, however I regularly felt too guilty to reveal my large SLR. But I observed so many things that massively affected the projects outcome. It also changed who I am. The key findings are shown over the following pages however it is very hard to express it in words.
One usage scenario, (Bikes 4 Life, 2014)
Visitin g T he Gambia not only allowed the prototype to be tested it also opened my eyes to what real innovation is
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General observations
They have practically nothing and are more than content sitting, relaxing and drinking local green tea together.
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Family is so important. They live with their extended families and do absolutely everything together.
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They don’t plan ahead, they only live for that exact moment in time. They have no savings, and little future aspiration
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This is their current pannier rack solution. Bought in the market where the shop owner also welds it on for you.
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Workshop
The local mechanics who work at the Jole Rider bike workshop have some of the best knowledge about how the bikes are used and what the main problems are with them. Therefore I decided to spend 2
days working with them to get a real feel of what they do and what their struggles were. Talking to them during lunch was perhaps some of the best insights of the entire project.
This is me with the 4 strong Jole Rider bike mechanic team, and behind us is the small workshop from which they operate from.
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Considering the circumstances the workshop was incredibly well equipped. Much more so than the local shop.
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The mechanics repair a lot of the bikes that have been provided to the children. Seen here are some of these bikes, and they show how badly worn they are.
The workshop keeps a lot of spare parts from bikes that brake, as certain components are very hard to get hold of
The condition of some of the broken components was horrific. Here the bearings of a bottom bracket have been worn by the sand and dirt to the point where they have split.
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The techniques used to fix the bikes are rudimentary to say the least, however they nearly always fix them!
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An interview was conducted with the Lamin, the head mechanic, and his insights can be seen in a video available at:
―― Open British Bottom Brackets are the easiest to get hold of. The USA part on the prototype is really hard to replace ―― Everyone in the village loved the prototype, and they all asked where he got it from ―― Everyone wanted one as well, but they knew it was from the UK as ‘all the best things come from England’ ―― The pannier rack was the best thing about it. It makes it so easy to carry people on. Carrying kids on the back would be great ―― The thick tires are also really good ―― Two brakes would be better ―― The handle bars are considered feminine and may not want to be used by men ―― The frame is also a female frame and again might not be good for men to ride
vimeo.com/89370740 The focus was on the problems with current bikes and his thoughts on the new frame. Before the interview Lamin took the bike with him and used it for 3 days to get a feel for what is like. Below are his key comments: ―― There are a lot of problems with the second hand bikes ―― The components that break most regularly are the wheel hubs and bottom brackets ―― Inner tubes and tires are also a problem but they are easy to repair ―― Certain parts are easy to get hold of but they are very low quality and quite expensive
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Schools
Visiting the schools was probably a slightly less beneficial experience than talking to the guys at the workshop and getting an overall feel for the country, however it did provide some insights. One of the most apparent things was how attentive the children were and how much the wanted their education. They strive to improve and the teachers see them as future leaders. They want to help their pupils in every way
and really see the bikes benefitting this. I also talked with the children to see how the bikes impacted their lives and it was clear how much they values them. I also conducted an interview with the principal and we discussed how the bikes impact the children. This interview can also be seen in the previous video.
The pile of Jole Rider provided bikes at in the school playground.
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Sitting in on some of the lessons allowed me to have a few quick chats with the kids.
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The children really did value their bikes and they were very aware of how useful they were to them.
A lot of bikes were in pretty bad condition, and the ones that were unable to be used were chucked in a store room to await repair.
The school buildings were impressive places with a lot of space for the kids to play and socialise during break time.
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I talked with a huge number of kids about the new prototype and they love it. Many of them wanted one and it was extremely hard to keep a hold of it as all the children wanted a go riding on it with their mate on the back.
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Use stages
Visiting The Gambia, talking to the users and conducting ethnography research lead to a lot of changes in the overall design, and these are mentioned later, however it also became clear how the bikes are used for absolutely everything. Opposite details how the bikes are actually used.
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Store bike
Use at weekends
Ride to School
Store at School
Use in evening
Ride home
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Sourcing components
To ensure the final prototype would work with local components, I visited a local bike shop and purchased everything needed to equip a single frame. The cost and items are detailed below. ―― Powder coated steel handle bars ―― Rubber bar grips ―― Powder coated steel handle bar stem ―― Aluminium brake levers ―― Plastic pedals with reflectors ―― Bottom bracket ―― Coated steel front and rear brakes ―― Brake cables These cost 570 Delasis in total (£9) Some items were available but were to large to transport back to the UK so an equivalent was used in the final prototype. These were: Hubs, 90 Delasis Rims, 40 Delasis Spokes, 25 Delasis Tires, 150 Delasis Crank set, 100 Delasis Total = 405 Delasis (£6.40) The total cost of all components needed to build a bike in addition to a frame would be about 1000 Delasis (£15)
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The shop where all the components were purchased
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They are the future of The Gambia, and they are the end users. The bike has to make their lives better.
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Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography research
Co-Design (Iteration 2) Final Concept
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Design changes
The findings from ethnography research and prototype testing led to some key design changes and general feedback on the design. These are: 1. Keep the strong pannier rack. It is useful and received great feedback 2. Use BMX pegs to make transport easier 3. Single speed works great 4. The chain guard is useful, but can be added on by the user if needed 5. The seat needs to go lower 6. Make the frame more masculine. 7. Use a British BB not a USA one 8. Use standard straight handlebars 9. Use front and rear brakes 10. Ensure it works with large tires
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8 5
1
9 6
2
10
4 3
7
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Design specification (updated)
(M) Mandatory requirement. This feature must be built into the product. (O) Optional requirement. This feature can be built into the product if the need is there. (D) Desirable requirement. This should be built into the product unless cost is to high. (E) Possible future enhancement. This feature should be considered for future adaptations. 1 Target Market 1.1 Primary Market ―― Children in The Gambia aged between 8 and 20 years. (M) ―― The parents of these children. (M) 1.2 Future Markets ―― Children living in developing countries. (M) ―― People living in developing countries. (M) ―― People living in UK, USA and Europe. (E) 2 User Requirements ―― It must hold at least 2 people in a safe and comfortable manner. (M) ―― It must be adjustable to be used by 8 year old children and also adults. (M) ―― It must be able to carry >100kg loads exceeding the standard requirements of a bike. (M) ―― These loads must be easy to secure for safe transport. (M) ―― The bicycle could customisable to suit the requirements of its user. (O) ―― The bicycle should have an integrated locking system. (E) 3 Maintenance ―― It must need minimal repair throughout its lifespan. (M) ―― It should require minimal upkeep to keep it running. (D) ―― Parts of the frame should be easy to remove and replace if damage occurs. (O) 4 Product Lifespan ―― It must last 15 years with minimal repair and upkeep. (M) ―― It should last 30 years with some maintenance and repair. (D) ―― It should be upgradable and adaptable to last an indefinite amount of time. (E)
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5 Pricing ―― It must cost under £20 to produce the frame. (M) ―― The additional components must cost under £15 for the user to buy. (M) 6 Education ―― The frame should include indications on what needs to be maintained. (M) ―― The frame should outline what components need to be purchased. (M) 7 Environment ―― If possible the product life cycle should be sustainable. (D) 8 Performance ―― It must be usable on roads with large ruts and an inconsistent surface. (M) ―― It must contain no electronics. (M) ―― It should include reflectors for road safety at night. (M) 9 Size and Weight ―― A Gambian child aged 8 must be able to life and move the bicycle. (M) ―― It should be designed for packaging in a shipping container. (O) ―― It must be lightweight to reduce shipping cost. (O) 10 Standard Components ―― It must use parts readily available in The Gambia. (M) ―― These parts must be removable using a minimal amount of tooling. (M) ―― The frame will be supplied separately so must interface with various components (M) 11 Materials ―― It must be made from Steel to allow for welding repairs. (M)
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Prototype 3.0
The final prototype was again built around a pre existing frame, but this time was based upon a frame of a different shape. This was to make it more in-line with the initial drawings ensuring it was no longer based upon a female style frame. CAD software was used to develop the geometry of the frame shape allowing the final frame design to be geometrically correct and technically sound.
Each of the key features of the final frame design are shown in the following images and this includes the changes from the initial prototype. Opposite are the 2 frame designs and even though the changes may not be instantly clear, their are various iterations many of which will be crucial to the success of the product.
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Locally purchased BMX esque handle bars along with easy grab bake levers
Pannier rack is kept the same but now includes tie points.
BMX pegs make riding on the back considerably easier, and the weight is transferred directly into the rear axel
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Single speel chain and locally sourced front crank
Easy to adjust quick release seat post
Frame design is now aligned with the one I developed
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Project Overview Background Knowledge Designing for Emerging Markets Process Analysis Proposed Process Hear Define Component Decisions Co-Design Ethnography research Co-Design
Final concept
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Overview and impact
Final proposal
How it will impact the local economy
The drawing opposite top shows the final design concept at this point of the project. In many ways it is extremely similar to the final prototype and nearly all features are carried across. Of course the final proposal will be a fully bespoke frame and will be manufactured from raw material, and will not be built upon an existing frame. The pierced tube seat tube will give incredible strength to the overall frame and will make the bike somewhat stronger than Prototype 3.0.
Throughout the project I have always been concerned that creating a frame that would need less maintenance would stop local bicycle mechanics receiving work. However if anything the new frame will improve this market. As all the components are not included with the frame, it will require the users to purchase these, thus driving money into the local economy that would not of happened before. My research has shown how these components are usually very low quality and will need replacing regularly and this will mean the economy will be constantly stimulated by these bikes; even if they saturate the market. There is also no worry for the users not being able to afford the parts as replacing cheap components regularly is much more preferable than having to invest heavily in better components less often.
The key features have been shown on one of the Final Design Proposal boards, and this should be referenced at this stage. How it will impact people The aim of the project has always been to bring positive change to the user of the bicycle and the research so far has shown how much of a change it will bring. This new bicycle frame will benefit the users in every single way the current frame does, but due to it’s longevity and component compatibility will enable them to use it for longer without the great risk of degradation. Components can be replaced as needed, and now it will be possible to do it locally. The ownership is simplified allowing them to use it every single day with minimised problems.
How it will impact Bikes4Africa The new frame will simplify their current system allowing the frames to be purchased in Asia and shipped directly to The Gambia. These hands off approach will allow them to focus their energy on managing the distribution system and perhaps improving it.
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Future development
This project is far from complete, and even though my time working on it has come to an end, it is likely for it to continue past this point. As it stands the design has been finalised yet, due to time constraints, very little engineering and stress testing has been done.
Design for manufacture Little work has been done to adapt the frame design to aid manufacturing. The order of manufacturing will need to be determined before contacting manufacturing and distribution partners to get their feedback on the design. Aspects of the design may need to be changed, but as we are now only supplying the frame, not a complete bike, certain aspects of this may be easier.
As a BA student my focus was, quite correctly, to research the needs of the user, gain understanding for designing for emerging markets, built prototypes, then use the findings for these to create a final design concept proposal.
Further testing From this point on there are clear steps in getting the bicycle ready for manufacture and distribution across The Gambia and further.
Once these changes have been made it is strongly advised to take the final manufacturing ready prototype to The Gambia for an extended period of testing. This should be for 6 months across both the dry and rainy season to analyse how people use the bike. This should be done across a number of different families who use the bikes in different ways.
Cost reduction To ensure the cost of manufacturing the frame is below ÂŁ25 an extensive amount of cost reduction will need to be done. This will mainly be done through the final material selection and manufacturing process, however it may also affect the design itself. Pierced tube fittings are expensive and analysis will need to be done to decided if the benefits outweigh the cost.
Implementation analysis Finally an implementation plan should be drawn out to discover the best way to roll out the new frame.
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Design review
The final concept has been compared to design specification to ensure it meets the criteria I set out to achieve,
Product lifespan According to staff at Bikes4Africa this frame should last 15 years due to it’s incredibly strong geometry. And this can be extended further so long as it is kept painted and therefore rust free.
Target market Testing has proved it is appropriate for use by people in The Gambia. Feedback has yet to be sought from people in other developing countries or the UK, USA & EU.
Pricing With further development the frame cost will be reduced. Currently the cost on manufacture has yet to be determined. The chosen components do cost under ÂŁ15 to buy.
User requirements The prototype frame accurately suits the use of people of all ages. During testing the bike was used by people aged 6 to adult and they were all able to use it. It has also been proven to carry 2 people with ease and this also accounts for a total load of around 160kg.
Education Instructions and guidelines for the frame will need to be made during further development.
The rope mounting points mean a load can be secured easily and as the frame is supplied on it’s own, the user can decide what components need to be bought to suit their own needs. A locking system was not integrated as it became apparent these are not needed.
Performance The frame is very well suited to the African environment. Size and weight
Maintenance The frame is quite heavy, however this can be reduced by using thinner gauge tubing and this will be looked at during further development.
The frame will at some point need repairing and as it is made from steel, this can be done locally and with ease. New components can be bought as needed and the frame is compatible with locally sourced parts.
Standard components The final frame uses standard components throughout the design.
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Personal evaluation I have loved every single second of this project. Whether it was researching a new design process, building the prototypes in the workshop or visiting The Gambia, every single experience was new and fascinating. I have always felt design can really make a difference and this project has been the first opportunity to see that affect first hand. Doing something that can
visibly impact some ones life is incredible, and even by simply leaving Prototype 2.0 in The Gambia to be used by Lamin was amazing. I have learnt more from this project than any other experience I have ever had. Being allowed by my supervisor to explore the areas of design that really matter to me gave me the chance to expand my
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knowledge so much, and what I have learnt from this I will always carry with me. The project in my eyes was a complete success, and even if this project ends at this point, some impact has already been made to the lives of a few people in The Gambia. And that was always my personal aim.
In The Gambia
I have learnt more f rom this pro ject than any other experience I have ever had
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Sunset in The Gambia
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Conclusion
The final outcome was not initially what I had envisioned. At the start it was assumed that a fully manufacturing ready design would be reached, however it quickly became apparent that this goal could not be reached. There was a clear point when either bicycle mechanics or human centred design approach could be taken, and I believe focussing on creating a concept that people actually want was the correct choice.
down, and it did appear the lost interest in the project. However this relationship was rebuilt when funding was received from the various foundations, and they are extremely happy with the overall design. As mentioned at the start of the project, there were 2 clear goals; to build an AfricaBike, which was clearly a success, and also to gain understanding for designing for emerging markets. The latter is perhaps the most academic part of the project and it has been a great success. Studying various methods led to the creation of a design process that has proved to work well, and that can be used in the future. I have gained a new understanding of a completely new way to design for people, and these methods can now be applied to various types of project, not just ones focussed on emerging markets.
The final design concept succeeds in so many ways, and even though from an outsiders view it seems as though it is just a bike with a pannier rack, the small changes have made a huge different. The testing in The Gambia showed how such small changes are seen as true innovation and the frame that has been created full fills the exact needs of the user. And overly complex design could have been envisioned, but a simple design is the most appropriate thing for emerging markets.
Learning how to work with the end user, finding their real needs then creating a product for them should be the goal of all design projects. And in this case, that goal has been reached.
Some aspects of the project could clearly of been improved. At times communication with the collaborative company broke
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Rob Bye 0909097 Major Project Report April 2014 Dr Marco Ajovalasit Fabrizio Ceschin