Peugeot AE21, Paris Motor Show addition

The Paris Motor show will finish tomorrow so you better get down there fast if you want to see the bike we created specially for the show to go with the Exalt concept car which was also seen for the first time in Paris in its new finish.

The AE21 has been on sale for a few months now and sales seem to be very promising. 

For the show we took the standard production and bike and trimmed the rear of the frame with the same 'sharkskin' finish as the car, while  the aluminium plaques that hold the bag were refinished with a very special affect which involves depositing a layer of aluminium on the surface and allows us to leave a the name of the bike as the raw, polished surface of the plaques. 

For the bag itself, we simply re-trimmed it the same aged leather and pinstripe fabric as the car. The bike is displayed on the stand next to the car, an electric scooter and the Onyx sofa. 

Here's the bike with the Exalt concept car 

Luckily it was a beautiful day when we took these pictures on the Peugeot roof terrace a few days before the show.

Here are a couple of snaps from the show. You can see the Peugeot Design lab designed Hybrid kick scooter too.

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Peugeot RG21 (Roland Garros) electric bike

A couple of pictures of the Peugeot stand at the French Open (Roland Garros) which started last weekend. 
The RG21 is a special addition all white version of the AE21 electric bike, which celebrates the 2014 French Open, along side the 208 and Metropolis scooter. It comes with a unique Roland Garros bag, built in ABUS Bordo lock etc. 
Having finally got to ride this bike a bit, especially around Milan I was surprised how good it is. The electric motor is really punchy, so you can get away from traffic lights with what seems like car or scooter like acceleration. It makes it feel safer than a regular bike because you aren't aways being swamped by the motorized traffic. 
The central space for the laptop bag is genuinely useful, especially when you are jumping on and off the bike. No messing around the racks and straps, no fear it's going to fall off or get stolen and the perfect size for all sorts of messenger bags that you see more and more these days.
Anyway, here it is, hope you like it.....

Milan Design Week 2014

Peugeot AE21 in the 'wild'

Peugeot Design Lab had it's first presence at the Milan Design Week during the second week of April 2014, in the Tortona district of Milan. 
The Tortona area seemed like the most vibrant part of the city and we were overwhelmed by the number and variety of people who came to see us, the time the spent and interest they showed in our work.  
The highlight was undoubtably the Onyx sofa but the piano installation was also a huge hit.
It was a big moment for me too since we presented the Peugeot AE21 electric bicycle which is finally, finally on sale. I even had a spin round the block on it and was very pleasantly surprised at it's turn of speed and ease of riding, especially around the crowded streets. 
As well as the model on display at our installation we were also asked for a model for the Via stand which showcased the best of French design. As it says in their press release;
For the “Salone Internazionale del Mobile” from 8 to 13 April 2014, VIA and 14 septembre, with support from the Ministry of Productive Recovery are proud to bring you the second France Design, the French design talents in Milan. Across two major exhibitions, this year’s event brings the biggest names in French design together under one roof at the Superstudio Più (Tortona) as part of the “Off” Milan Design Week program. 
There are some photos;

AE21 on our stand, in the new orange colour

Here's the AE21 on the Via France Design Stand

Peugeot 108, Citroen C1

As well as bicycle design I have been known to dabble in a bit of car design too. OK 23 years of dabbling, but my latest as possibly last piece of car design was recently released at the Geneva auto salon.
The latest generation of PSA small cars have an interior design I worked on (with Matthieu Hagnere). It was a fun project because we worked with a team from Toyota and the same interior can be seen on the new Aygo.

Peugeot 108 In progress sketch

 

Shoes!

Just as with frames and complete bikes, clothing designers were in the weight weenie groove at Eurobike this year. There were plenty of examples of light weight helmets but is was shoes that seem to have got the most attention this year. It makes sense when you think how hard it is to loose a gram or two from the weight of a pedal to look at shoe design and the weights seem to have plumetted in the last couple of years.

The was also a move towards personalization, headed by the likes of Giro and Bont, which is another strong movement in the bike world generally.

 

 



The Mavic Huez shoe boasts the lightest weight of the show, at sub 200g each.

 

Boa rivalling closure system, the Northwave SLW2

Northwaves light and slippery looking sole

DMT Airtech

Bont Trithlon shoe

The big news on the Bont stand was the launch of their personalization programme, MY BONT.

Giro are already well into the idea of personalization

Peugeot AE21 at the Paris salon du Cycle

I really need to get batter photographs, but here are some very poor images of the Peugeot AE21 at the salon du cycle in Paris.
There were three prototypes on show, one of which was ridable in the electric bike test area. 
It's the first time I've seen the black and orange version or the full black one (gloss and matt black), and they both looked cool!

Matt black with gloss black sides

Matt black with bright gloss orange sides

Here you can see the integrated lock, behind the bag

100 editions of the Tour de France, 1919

1919 La Sportive ridden by Firmin Lambert BEL

For the 1919 race several of the big name bike manufacturers, including Peugeot, Alcycon, Automoto, La Français and Labor formed the 'La Sportive' team to try to stop the increasing salary demands of the top riders and to reduce the costs for an industry on its knees after the hostilities. La Sportive would last three Tours (all of which they won, unsurprisingly since they equipped half the peloton). La Sportive was opposed by the J.B. Louvet company, which fielded its own team led by the Pelissier brothers, Henri (who went on to win the Tour in 1923) and Francis.

The war had taken it's toll on the country, with over 6 million either dead or wounded. The riders had suffered too, with many killed in action, and the remaining ones were obviously totally unprepared for such a test. It was and still is, the slowest ever Tour at 24.06 kph though despite that there were only 10 finishers.

It seems trivial to talk of the actual racing when great campions, like Peit-Breton, François Faber, Octave Lapize to name but three were lost in the war, but the racing went on and it's a credit to those who dragged themselves around the war torn roads of France that year.

It's also widely credited as the Tour that introduced the yellow jersey though recent research seems to suggest that it was actually first seen in the previous, 1914, race.

Eventually it was Fermin Lambert who prevailed but Christophe had ridden another great race, though yet again succombed to numerous crashes, punctures and another set of broken forks!

Peugeot AE21 on Car Body Design

Nice to see that bicycles are being recognised elsewhere in the media, for example on the Car Body design site. You can see one of the five videos there, that were made to launch the bike and feature a tour of some design and fashion hotspots of europe.

Peugeot AE21

A mention recently on Bicycle design of the AE2 electric city bike, which will be launched later this year.  
There are more photographs on the Peugeot design Lab web site and some of my sketches.



In the first design I had the bag in the frame but it wasn't really a practical solution.



Same concept but with the bag in the U of the frame.



An idea for a very simple tubular frame incorporating a lock and pump as well as the bag.

The first sketch where I created a container for the bag. The style is also much more sculptural.

100 editions of the Tour de France, 1914

1914 Peugeot ridden by Philippe Thys BEL

Thys wins his second of three Tours and again Peugeot are triumphant, with a totally dominant display which saw them take the top three places overall plus 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th.

The stage from Le Harve to Cherbourg passes through Pont-Audemer, a familiar town to all Lavallois-Honfleur riders

It's hardly surprising that they were dominant, with a team consisting of 4 riders who had won, or would win, the Tour and another 4 podium finishers. But that's not the full story since Peugeot were up against a formidable field with the peloton containing 11 riders who would finish the careers having won the Tour.

This was the last Tour before the Great War and in fact the same day the riders set out from Saint Cloud on the outskirts of Paris, Serbian secret agent Gavrilo Princip assassinated Austro-Hungary's Archduke Ferdinand. The Tour was to finish exactly a week before the Nazis declared war on France and invaded Belgium. Many of the Tour riders would be lost in the war.

Peugeot AE21

After a lot of hard work, the production version of the Peugeot eDL122 bike is final out. When the first, non electric, version was released at the Geneva motor show we hoped it would make it to production but there was still a lot to learn about the production process and the making of a bicycle without just using tubes. The DL122 was launched alongside the new 208 and was designed with the same philosophy of compactness, agility and practicality.
A year or so on and Marc Beaugé takes the first preproduction bike on a tour of some of europes best cities.

 

Longchamp

Any cyclist who finds themselves in Paris, with a bike, has to try out a few laps round the much loved Longchamp circuit.
The Hippodrome de Longchamp, or simply Longchamp to the regulars, is a system of cycle paths and closed roads that create a loop around the famous home of French horse racing. 

Situated just outside the périférique, which encircles Paris, in the western suburb of Bois de Boulogne the circuit lies at the heart of French cycling. The first ever bicycle race took place in 1868 just over the river in the park at Saint Cloud when Englishman James Moore won the 1200m event. 
Also from the area is the Athletic Club Boulogne-Billancourt, one time stepping stone to the pro ranks and specifically  the Peugeot team. Back in the 70s and 80s ACBB was the temporary home for many English speaking riders as the club became the first to recognize the talents from the 'new worlds' as they welcomed Robert Miller, Phil Anderson, Stephen Roche and Sean Yates, amongst many others.
Many champions from France also passed through ACBB, most notably Bernard Thévenet and the great Anquetil.
These days the circuit is home to weekend worriers, lunch time keep fitters as well as the occasional pro team. The most popular times seem to be Tuesday and Thursday evening, when groups can reach 100 riders, but at pretty much anytime you can see riders at the circuit.

Not only a Parisian sanctuary for cyclists but you'll also see plenty of runners, triathletes (doing a bit of both) and crazy dudes on roller blades. These guys can stay with the big groups of cyclists up until the speed gets really hot. I've been with them at 40+ kph and not much slower on the uphill sections.

One of the delights of Longchamp, to me, is the wonderful pedestrian footbridge that takes you high above the noise and bustle of the city roads to the edge of the circuit from the Saint Cloud side of the river. 

All sorts ride at Longchamp

The starting gates of the race course

Views of La Defence