Taiwan Design Recognized at the 2011 Eurobike Award

The Eurobike Award is the seventh most important bicycle-design award in the world. And in the international bicycle industry EUROBIKE is the world's leading tradeshow. The winners of this year's Eurobike Award were honored on the first day of the EUROBIKE tradeshow in Friedrichshafen, Germany, which went from August 31 to September 3.

The organizer of the Eurobike Award was iF International Forum Design GmbH of Germany. In this year's competition fifty-nine winning designs were selected out of a total of 430 designs from twenty-seven countries, an increase of 13 designs and one country from last year's competition. Out of the total of 59 winning designs, 48 received the 2011 Eurobike Award, 10 received the 2011 Eurobike Gold Award, and one received the 2011 Eurobike Green Award.

In this year's competition, only two of the winning designs were from Taiwan and neither of them received the Gold Award. Although Taiwan has an impressive production base of high-level bicycles, it appears that it doesn't have the most innovative design capabilities.

This year's award winners demonstrate that bicycle manufacturers are continually trying to achieve designs that are lighter, faster, safer, and more comfortable for the rider. The results of this year's competition also show that innovative designs are an important factor in today's competitive bicycle market.

Once submitted, each design entry was placed in one of seventeen categories, which include: All-Terrain Bike; Traveller Bike; Trekking Bike, BMX-Bike; Dirt Bike, City Bike, Cross; Fitness; Speed Bike, Cruiser; Design Bike, E-Bike; Pedelec, Family Transportation; Kid's Bike, Folding Bike, Downhill Mountain Bike; Enduro; Freerider, Hardtail Mountain Bike, Full-Suspension Mountain Bike, Road Bike, Special-Purpose Bike, Clothing, Electronic Components; and Components, Frames, and Accessories.

According to iF International, E-bikes are now a trendy product in the bicycle industry. What has yet to be achieved is to design an electric motor that is not easily identifiable as such at first glance. Bicycle manufacturers aim to create new markets for the products of the future, whether they are folding bikes, city bikes, or hybrids that are part mountain bike and part racing bike. Examples of this are the initial models of the “invisible” Pedelecs and E-bikes. And more differentiated types of bikes with advanced drive systems are expected to follow.

Each entry for this year's coveted Eurobike Award was judged according to specific standards, such as degree of innovation, use of materials, and functionality or sustainability.

This year for the fourth time a design received the Eurobike Green Award, awarded to a product of high ecological and sustainable value. This year's winning design was a park and rental station for bikes made by e-bike-mobility of Markdorf, Germany.

What follows are this year's ten Eurobike Gold Award winners, the Eurobike Green Award winner, and the two Taiwanese winners of the Rurobike Award.

EUROBIKE GOLD 2011 Winners

This unique design with high-quality workmanship is suitable for long trips with lots of baggage.

This transport bike has a singular feature: when the going gets tough, just switch the motor on. Due to its solid frame and small, sturdy wheels, it's easy to ride even when what it must carry is heavy. It's also easy to adjust to any size.

This design is a Pedelec of the future, featuring a gearshift and automatic motor support. Another feature is a long-lasting battery. The impressive design ensures a great ride.

The Haibike is an exceptional mountain bike with an eye-catching design: clean lines, colorful accents, and a perfected technology.

This is a no-frills lightweight road bike with an ingeni

ous frame technology. And despite the innovative quality, it's still affordable.

The Gekko trike is a three-wheeled bicycle that doesn't appear as if it could be assembled in a jiffy and stored in the trunk of almost any car. Yet it can. It is an impressive technological design.

This is an elegant and functional riding jacket with reflection strips that help protect the rider from possible dangers, with a cut that allows for easy movement, and that's made of a high-quality material that prevents perspiration.

This is both a lightweight and heavyweight design. The most modern materials possible have been included without any frills in a highly functional, visually very appealing shoe. This is what the shoe world was missing before the arrival of the Octane SL III. And the choice of materials results in very comfortable footwear, as if you were wearing a sandal.

The AGT is the automatic gearshift of the future, allowing adjustments in both motor and transmission functioning to occur automatically. This feature both ensures avoidance of ‘ver-gear problems' and saves lots of energy.

The Michelin Protek Max is a nearly 100-year-old product that has been improved significantly: the design is virtually resistant to punctures, is much easier to fit into the tire, and maintains tire pressure for longer periods. This kind of improvement to a standard product definitely deserves a Gold Award.

EUROBIKE GREEN AWARD 2011 Winner

This year's winner of the Eurobike Green Award is a fully-automatic parking garage and rental area that can accommodate between twenty and 112 bikes. Depending on the height of the space, it has the capability of including up to six levels. This is an ecologically innovative concept that needs a push forward.

Thanks to its appealing design and theft protection features, people will be encouraged to use bicycles more than ever before. It is a forward-looking concept that fits well in any city landscape. Powered by solar energy, the garage also helps preserve resources. It can be used 365 days a year, twenty-four hours a day. And the first installation of this innovative design will happen at the main train station in Meckenbeuren in mid August 2011.

Taiwanese Winners of EUROBIKE AWARD 2011

Category: Accessories

Product: MICHELIN Protek Max – Bike innertube

Company: Michelin Reifenwerke AG & Co. KGaA, Karlsruhe/Germany

Design: Michelin Reifenwerke AG & Co. KGaA, Karlsruhe/Germany

This is a nearly 100-year-old product that has been improved significantly: the design is virtually resistant to punctures, is much easier to fit into the tire, and maintains tire pressure for longer periods.

The Eclipse S11i was built to be the ultimate in two-wheeled urban transport. Fenders, integrated lighting, and bosses for front and rear luggage racks are standard on this machine. A BioLogic Joule HG hub dynamo powers the integrated Valo light. An even more innovative aspect is that the Joule HG can be completely turned off to eliminate drag when you don't need power. The Andros adjustable stem accommodates short and tall riders, and the FreeaDrive chain cover protects you from chain grime and grease. What is the best thing about this bike? Though it has big 24" wheels, the Eclipse folds up to the folded size of many 20-inch folders (79×72×42 cm).

Although road and cyclocross riders ask for the power, convenience, and all-weather capabilities of hydraulic disc brakes, current road bike integrated brake/shift levers are designed to work cable-actuated brakes. Hydraulic disc brakes offer performance advantages for road and cyclocross bikes such as increased powers and improved performance in wet weather. TRP Parabox is a hydraulic disc brake system specifically designed to adapt braking input from cable-actuated road brake/shift levers. The brake system includes a hydraulic master cylinder/cable converter box and two brake calipers specifically designed for front or rear applications.