Eclectic: Jackie - International Bike Design Competition

University of Alberta Industrial Design students Justin Chan, Andrew Lesniak, Mina Lee, and Paul Czarnietzki won the International Bike Design Competition with the Triciclo recumbent trike. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Jackie - SSTattler

A University of Alberta team is gearing up for a three-wheeling adventure.

Industrial design students Paul Czarnietzki, Andrew Lesniak, Justin Chan and Mina Lee of Team Triciclo have designed a recumbent tricycle that will be shown off at the Taipei International Cycle Show in Taiwan next spring.

The Gran Turismo trike was designed for a school project, and wound up winning the International Bike Design Competition over 590 other submissions from 45 countries.

“When we originally started this it was just a school project, and now all of a sudden we get to travel the world,” said Czarnietzki. “It’s pretty crazy.”

The bike, which currently exists only as a computer rendering, is a stylish three-wheel vehicle designed for riding comfort and safety, with a dash of style and a built-in exoskeleton to protect riders from minor-impact collisions. It also features cargo space and pedal-powered LED headlights.

Czarnietzki, who has worked as a mechanic at United Cycle for five years, said the suave design was inspired by Italian sports cars.

“The idea originally was to make this really functional, but boring and silly looking thing into something cool and racy,” he said. “So we took Ferrari, Lamborghini, that sort of style and innovation, and tried to put it into our design.”

The students will travel to Taipei this week for a technical workshop with engineers and industry experts, before returning for the design show in March. When they first got the news, it was bittersweet — the prize did not cover the cost of plane tickets.

That’s when Czarnietzki turned to his employer for help. United Cycle owner Jason Bots took him up on his request and decided he would cover the trip.

“We’re ecstatic for his participation in our project,” Czarnietzki said.

The team hopes its exposure will pique the interest of a company that might want to manufacture a prototype. If all goes well, Czarnietzki hopes the project leads to a career in bike design.

“I would love to design bikes for a living. That would be something else,” he said.

kevin.maimann@sunmedia.ca