Striking the right balance of design awesomeness and functional practicality is hard for most automotive concept designs. Either they weigh in heavily for next-gen looks or inculcate features that can very remotely justify the design. Both ways, it’s not a win-win situation for readers seeking out future automobiles that’ll make the cut in real-life scenarios.
Fortunately, this concept bike design by JiaYan Li ignites my vision of a future two-wheeler that the world could see for real on the freeways. A ride with the right mix of looks, an eco-conscious electric drivetrain, and presumably enough power under the hood for that adrenaline rush down the freeway.
Designer: JiaYan Li
The iNSTINCT electric motorcycle has an elongated wheelbase for a semblance of café racer aesthetics but only to a degree wherein, it doesn’t lose its sports bike appeal. At first glance, the superbike’s front seems like the rear section, it is so far ahead of the headlights – something akin to the modded cruise bikes versions. The color combination here is also determinant in bringing out that X-factor to appeal to a broader set of audience. Gen-Z riders who don’t mind the flamboyance in things they own.
This concept motorcycle draws me with its magnetic charm that grows, the more I stare at it. That inclusion of cool orange with white matched perfectly with the dark grey metal and silver finish. The wishbone suspension supports the whole rear and front frame which has an asymmetrical geometric shape. Those headlights have a very Cyberpunk vibe, and it follows down to the swingarm cover. Overall the iNSTINCT electric bike is a winning blueprint that could make it into the real world someday.
The idea of futuristic bike designs can germinate from even the most unrelated roots, and we’ve seen quite a chunk of them. The majority of these motorbike concepts have a beefy muscular character which at times can get boring. And yes, all of them are draped in dark skins for that intimidating presence.
So, how about a Tesla concept bike design that hangs on to the futuristic theme without having a very recognizable, stale aesthetic?
Designer: 張 彥齊
Meet the Model-Z electric bike crafted for motorbike lovers who crave a unique lifestyle of commuting in cities without compromising on the riding experience. The ride is made to be light weighted for easy maneuvering in crowded cityscapes. The designer focuses on the signature visual element inspired by the likes of BMW who are known for the “Kidney Grille” design or Tesla’s iconic front look symbolic of speed and futuristic DNA.
The Tesla-branded bike gets hubless wheels and a contoured edgy design which highlights its futuristic character, and of course Tesla’s signature influence. The two-wheeler emphasizes the high riding position and balanced rider driving aesthetics. Just like we pressed on the dark looks of concept bikes, the Model-Z has a rare light-colored theme which is aptly refreshing. That curvy handlebar and the iRobots inspired from section absolutely hits a home run in terms of uniqueness. This alone could lure prospective bike lovers into the honey trap!
Power on the bike is delivered based on the mode selected just like you would find on any roadster these days. It can go from 0-100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 200 km/h. A full charge of 2.5 hours ensures a 280 km range and for those busy days, one can extract a 75 km range with just 20 minutes of charging.
The side profile of the Model-Z is what we personally are drooling over – just look at this smooth operator in cool white and bronze-colored inserts.
Plenty of people have taken up biking or cycling recently, some to live a healthier lifestyle, others to escape the traffic of congested highways. Not all bikes are created equal, of course, and most are not equipped to handle different kinds of terrain. Even those that you could use to get to work and back aren’t always ready to face longer treks or rougher roads. Electric bicycles (not to be confused with electric scooters) can give you a leg up in terms of distance, but battery life and power will be perpetual concerns on the road. Whether you’re biking for sport or for work, you will probably want a bike that can handle anything and get you to your destination in comfort and in one piece, which is exactly what this monster of an E-bike brings to the table.
Unlike purely motorized personal transportation like e-scooters, e-bikes combine battery power and leg power to get you places. It’s probably because of that factor that many e-bikes tend to skimp on the motorized parts in favor of a lighter and skinnier body. After all, you can always pedal your way completely if the battery does finally give out. Definitely plausible but hardly ideal, especially if you’re trekking roads that even your mighty legs will have trouble going through. The ENGWE X26 all-terrain e-bike, in contrast, gives you all the power you need to conquer any road and almost any distance.
Conquer Hills with Ease – A 1000W gives you the comfort to glide over sand and gravel without stop and deal with mud and mountains with ease.
The ENGWE X26’s power comes from two features that are industry firsts for this type of electric vehicle. For one, it has a powerful 1000W motor capable of pushing your speed to 31 mph max. While that’s the maximum power it can dish out, the e-bike also delivers a steady and reliable 750W output that still outruns the average e-bike’s 500W motors. All this power makes short work of rough terrains and inclines, which means that you’ll also be gliding swiftly on smoother pavement.
Climb 30% Inclines – The 1000W motor pushes it up hills just like they were flat ground.
Go from A to Z Faster – The 1000W motor gives it a 31MPH top speed, beating other eBikes that only reach 20-30MPH.
Range Up to 62 Miles – The main battery gives you a full 48 miles, while a second swappable battery adds another 14 miles to your trip.
That heavy-duty motor naturally requires more power, and the ENGWE X26 delivers a whopping 1373Wh for that purpose. The secret to this trick is the two batteries inside, one 48V/19A pack standing vertically beneath the rider’s seat and a removable 48V/9.6A battery inside the top tube. Together, the two deliver a 62-mile range that’s 1.5 times more than your typical e-bike, and you can even go the distance by swapping out a spare battery.
3 times more powerful shock absorbance than normal e-bikes.
Triple Suspension System – Integrated with the solid fat tires for the maximum robust and exciting ride.
The ENGWE X26’s power doesn’t come at the sacrifice of comfort and convenience. 26in x 4in motorcycle-grade fat tires give you the best grip on the road, handling the triple threats of gravel, potholes, and rocky terrains with ease. A triple shock suspension system also makes short work of bumpy rides, absorbing shock three times better than the competition. The Shimano 8-speed gearbox lets you easily pick the sweet spot between performance and efficiency.
Given everything that it packs, the ENGWE X26 isn’t the lightest e-bike on the market, but that doesn’t make it any less portable. Its lightweight aluminum frame can be folded in half, giving access to the removable battery and allowing for easy storage. The e-bike isn’t lacking in safety features either, with a bright headlight and powerful break lights that can be a literal lifesaver in the dark. And to top it all off, there’s a built-in large LCD display to bring you up to speed on your speed, distance, and remaining battery.
The ENGWE X26 All-Terrain E-Bike is designed to be a greener alternative to cars and is built to perform just like one, too. In that context, the $1,599 price tag almost feels like a steal, especially if you’re able to avail of the super early bird discount. Just like this e-bike, ENGWE is also aggressive in its schedule, having shipped the first consolidated batch to the US and the UK last June, with local deliveries in Hong Kong starting in late August. The second batch has already started mass production, and consolidated shipping is expected to begin in August to bring this groundbreaking e-bike to backers.
We’ve seen a number of concept bikes featuring outlandish designs – some are genuinely cool while others are penned just for the sake of it. The WAYRA EV-03 electric cruiser motorcycle is a 100 percent no gimmick concept that’ll please every kind of rider – be it a cruiser enthusiast, performance lover or off-roading fanatic.
Keeping in mind the transition towards a cleaner future for vehicles, the rugged yet elegant-looking motorcycle is inspired by the perfect blend of nostalgic memories, definitive styles and the cult favorite tendencies ignited by great brands. Things like the overall frame construction, shape of the powerful engines or the length of the exhaust pipe.
Designer: Pablo Baranoff Dorn
WAYRA EV-03 is a bike high on personality, created keeping in mind the heritage of fat-bikes and cruiser-length bikes, while also having those minimal eye-catchy modern touches to create visual appeal. The presence of café racer aesthetics can also not be denied owing to the low-slung rider positioning. The element of drag racing is evident courtesy of the stretched rear, but the high ride height gives off that dirt bike racer vibe too. The designer drapes the ride in red and silver over the black matte, with an intent to avoid decals for gimmicky looks. The curved body embraces the tank, and the lines that follow the shape are colored – thereby everything centers on the logo and what lays below the tank.
Keeping in with the fusion of retro and modern, the bike gets an onboard display that has a retro digital typeface and interactive screen with the GPS map. The app on your phone mirrors onto the bike display so that everything stays in sync when you have a busy lifestyle. Since we are talking of a cleaner future, the cocktail bike has an optimized battery pack that keeps all your gadgets charged without compromising the bike’s performance or economy.
The fog lights are placed low and get a ring of LEDs with a diffuse area so as to prevent blindness for oncoming drivers. The focused light from the headlights is dispersed so that oncoming traffic sees it as a bigger lit shape coming towards you rather than an irksome light source.
Everyone has their eyes lit up wide at the sight of a cool bike that is an instant heartthrob. The muscular build, powerful innards and the eye candy paintjobs, those sexy two-wheelers are blessed with. But, ultimately we all need that reliable city commuter to get us through chalk and cheese of the buy lifestyle.
The DIDI Bike is the perfect example of a solo commuter that’s nimble enough to take on the snaking roads, and easy enough to park in crowded city streets. This two wheeler is more or less built for those quick trips to the supermarket for picking up groceries or enjoy the solo rides on a moonlit night.
Designer: 鲁 艺聪 (Lu Yicong)
An electric scooter at heart, it is pedal-powered for most part keeping the eco-conscious lot in mind. On flat terrain the DIDI Bike is better off assisted with the power of legs – that ways fitness is also taken care of. For roads with slight degree of elevation, the scooter’s electric motor kicks-in to save you from all the hard work. A front carrier is a nod to the classic utility two-wheelers native to the Asian continent.
Adding a modern touch to the classic utility bikes seen on the Chinese streets, the designer incorporates LED headlights, sleek taillights and a display for all the vital details. Things like battery level, current speed and important notifications from mobile devices. The dual toned finish in sea green and grey or the cool white and light grey adds contrasting look for a sober yet uber cool character.
There are not much details about the technical specifications to judge the bike’s capabilities, but it should be good enough for normal city commutes, I assume. A nice blend of classic and modern is what makes this one special.
Personal transportation for one or two riders has seen an uptick in the past few years. Some of them are in response to the growing congestion on highways, while others are aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of vehicles going to and fro places. Of course, motorbikes aren’t exactly more environment-friendly, and the flying cars of the future are still very much in the future. When it comes to economy and sustainability, bicycles and e-bikes are pretty much the name of the game. In most cases, however, you have to choose between a traditional bike or an electric one, and you’re stuck with that choice to the end. Though hybrids that combine the two do exist, they do come with their own drawbacks. There is one concept, however, that tries to remove that limitation, allowing you to choose between a motor and your feet anytime, anywhere.
Designer: Phan Dũng Tín (Alex Phan)
Most electric bikes and hybrids use a motor to either drive the bicycle’s gears or at the very least assist the biker’s pedaling. Unlike motorcycles, these run on electricity and not fuel, so their carbon emissions are reduced although still present. In addition to the power bill, however, you are also paying for the cost of the weight of the batteries and motor, even when you’re just using your feet to drive the vehicle. In contrast, the GRAVITY electric bicycle design concept lets you have the best of both worlds, and riders can easily switch between two modes whenever they need or feel like it.
The pull of GRAVITY, pardon the pun, is that its battery is removable. This is already significant in terms of longevity when you can easily replace dead batteries instead of having to buy a new bike or go through an expensive repair process. It also means, however, that the battery is not 100% critical in operating the bicycle. If you feel like breezing through traffic one day and then giving your legs a workout the next, all you need to do is remove the batteries and be on your way.
The concept, however, goes beyond just the batteries. It also recommends 3D printing the bike’s frame rather than assembling it from multiple parts to have better durability. There could also be other benefits to this kind of production, like being able to choose more sustainable materials that would be more difficult in mass-produced processes. The concept might even be combined with other techniques that could build a bicycle from a single sheet of metal.
The idea behind GRAVITY might not be that revolutionary, and there might even be commercial e-bikes that already sport this kind of removable battery design. It is, however, the small concepts that, when taken together, could help turn the industry toward a different direction, one that has a more sustainable strategy for the future of transportation and commuting.
The Autobot Acree, last seen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie, sure might have been small but the speed and nimble handling gave it a lasting advantage against the bad blood. Unfortunately, it succumbed to a Decepticon, and all the fans have been longing for a two-wheeled Transformer to make a thumping appearance sooner rather than later.
Thankfully, the concept design world gives our imagination wider wings, and this ripped, muscular motorbike has got the right ingredients to make it worthy for the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts appearance slated for a June 2023 release. While that could be a pipedream when the movie is eventually released, I crave this bad boy to get its due in the future.
Designer: Yuriy Mamontov
A beast in its own rights, this concept superbike is one of the most intimating automotive designs you’ll come across. The overwhelmingly cool ride has got an air of sci-fi to it, and a great likelihood of appearing on the big screen, somehow. Also, don’t count out the OTT platforms churning out gripping series – always on the lookout for the next big idea.
Those chunky wheels (good enough for an off-roading 4×4 vehicle) are wrapped on the hubless rims of the bike. They are reinforced by the beefy suspension on both the rear and front – leaving me to conclude its adrenaline-inducing character at high speeds. After all, you would imagine it to have superior grip and balance even while taking sharp turns.
Christened the XSC|1 motorcycle, this two-wheeled dream machine is highlighted by its sharp, bold and futuristic appearance. Those big fat tires, the reassured saddle, mean-looking headlights and the ultra-sharp rear; all combine to lend the motorcycle a resounding distinctiveness. No matter where you glance at the XSC, it’s defined by the sharp geometric lines and triangular patterns. No wonder, I got inclined to paint the Transformers’ picture in your head, the first time I saw this ride!
Personal mobility is the way to go for the coming decades since congested city streets demand agile and less space occupying two-wheelers. If they come with the zero-emission promise it coincides with the planet’s desperate urge for a cleaner greener ecosystem.
The ZID electric scooter cruiser is the successor to the uber geometrically inclined electric commuter that seems well ahead of its time and in sync with the demand for clean energy mobility. Following suit, this newer version maintains the futuristic appeal while toning things down for a more practical form. The front and the rear wheels are connected with a covered frame with a movable section dividing the two – obviously, this thing has to make sharp turns too!
The upright driving position gives off the peculiar kick-scooter personality of this e-scooter. There are a couple of carabiners hanging below the seating which will come in handy for carrying along groceries or small loads. The section below this also doubles as storage for keeping things and the rear platform above the wheel is another place to carry your haul of things like a skateboard, baseball bat, or things that would not fall off easily.
The straight handlebar has a modernized display on the left side that shows the current battery levels, real-time speed and the headlights on/off position. Those headlights take up the customary position in the middle of the frontal handlebar while the taillights drop down to the rear of the platform on the back.
The mix of radical design and storage space to carry things lends the ZID electric scooter a practical approach that’s validated for the future. To set it apart from the crowd, this unique lower shape also brings the convenience of extra space for keeping things without creating any visual chaos. All-in-all another refreshing concept that gets our validation for future prototype inspirations.
Railway maintenance personnel have to walk long distances to perform their task. This routine,by the way,can be really taxing in extreme weather conditions and calls for a practical solution that is useful beyond the limits of the railway tracks. Step into the concept design world, and you’ll find the perfect solution with the added perks.
The Railway Motorcycle is never-before-seen ideation to make the life of railways personnel easier, and more importantly, the safety of railway tracks 100 percent fullproof to avert any major incidents. After all lives of hundreds of people boarding trains, each day depends on these checks. The idea is to have a dual utility two-wheeler that hops on the railway tracks for easy inspection of any fault lines, and as a stylish bike for when you are not working. Yes, the suspension of this motorbike is done in a way to adjust to the two very different surfaces, and modes of riding.
The hubless wheels of this bike radiate the typical character we have come to witless in futuristic concepts seen thus far. Where it differs is the long-wheelbase biased towards the front rather than the rear. Now, that’s something different we get to see with this particular concept design. The electric motor on the Railway Motorcycle is positioned in the center to maintain balance while tilting on sharp curves at high speeds.
In the railway mode, the side sliding panel shifts down to tether with the railway track to prevent any disbalance. Since the wheels in this mode move upwards, the instrument panel, saddle, pedal and taillight ditch the traditional squarish design to make the switch possible. Then when it’s time to switch back to the conventional city driving mode, the side panel moves up into place, and the bike looks like any other futuristic two-wheeler we all in the concept design world are accustomed to seeing.
What if you could ride to work on a bike and disassemble it at the destination to reassemble it as an armchair to sit on in the meeting room? It is not easy for industrial designers to create a product disguised as a completely different idea. This is how the Outlaw Bike was born in Brazil though. We can argue, and you will read further why, that the bike is designed as an awareness campaign against the Brazilian tax regime, but it is in fact a project that will have many minds latching onto the idea for industrial gains.
Leaving that for the creative heads and ones with dosh to burn; we’ll get on with the idea at hand. The bicycle, a design by Cardoso Cycles for a collaborative awareness drive by Talent Marcel and Bicycling Magazine, can be disassembled instantly to be assembled into an armchair and a table. The idea is to draw the Brazilian tax authority’s attention to the tax burden that affects sales of bicycles in the country.
In general, bikes are more common around the world in comparison to cars. People use bikes for health and to stay in shape in some countries, while in nations like Netherlands and Germany bikes are mostly used for transportation. The popularity of bikes is steadily scaling in Brazil but taxes as high as 70 percent on bicycles makes bikes very expensive and render them inaccessible to most of the population. The Outlaw Bike however pretends to be furniture (which is taxable at 12 percent) so it is less expensive.
The project allows consumers to choose the form factor of their product: furniture or bicycle; depending on the tax option they choose. That said, either way, the furniture or bike are made from the same parts and same material. It’s only that they are assembled differently. The materials involved include treated wood, laminates, aluminum, steel and environmentally-friendly leather. The bike handle and frame are made of wood while the saddle is leather coated. The other parts are made from aluminum. When used as an armchair, the wood becomes the frame and leather spreads out for the seat. The metal body forms the base of the table topped with the cycle wheel.
The Outlaw bike; Denis Cardoso, owner of Cardoso Cycles notes, is only a prototype designed to highlight the high tax burdens. It is not for sale, though he does not rule out the possibility of the bike-furniture combo being commercialized in the future. If it is sold, it would be “valued around 3,800 reais” (approx. $800) if taxed as furniture, Cardoso informs. As a bicycle, it would value 58 percent more. For a marketable version, the designers will have to streamline assembly and disassembly and work on reducing the weight of the prototype.
