Starck’s new bike is part-scooter
Hybrid commuter bike can ‘slip through traffic’ like an eel
DESIGNER Philippe Starck has come up with a striking new bicycle design that is part bike and part scooter to match its intended commuter use on the streets of Bordeaux.
The man behind projects as varied as the Alessi juicer and Steve Jobs’ £85 million yacht Venus was asked to design a new communal bicycle by city mayor Alain Juppé – and came up with the Pibal vélo-patinette.
It is named for pibales, as young eels are called in the south-west, and the way it can slip through traffic.
Built to rival other commuter bikes such as the Vélib in Paris and the Vélo Bleu in Nice, the hybrid has cycle-style pedals and a flat scooter-like platform for the rider to push it in heavy traffic. The platform also means it can be used, Mr Starck said, to carry a child.
It also comes with fluorescent tyres for added security at night.
Car and bicycle firm Peugeot will build the Pibal in Romilly-sur-Seine, with 300 of the €420 bikes due on the streets from September. Made from aluminium, it will weigh 16kg and has internal hub gears.
Starck, who worked on the project for free, described it as a “workhorse” that was not designed by him but “by Bordeaux citizens who gave their ideas in a questionnaire”.
It is intended to take over from the city’s current fleet of 4,00 communal bikes, which can be picked up from various points throughout the city. Bordeaux has seen its number of cyclists triple over the past 10 years, with cyclists making up 10% of commuter traffic.
