Image MAGURA.com ©
Cargo bikes are becoming increasing popular across the globe. Capable of carrying heavy loads, they are being used for everything; from carrying your shopping to transporting your children to nursery – replacing cars in many instances. MAGURA, established in 1893, is a German manufacturer specialising in the development, production and marketing of components for all types of two-wheelers – bicycles, mountain bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes and motorcycles – synonymous with technical innovation, maximum safety.
Staff of the Sports Engineering Research Group (SERG) at Sheffield Hallam Univeristy recently visited the MAGURA headquarters situated in Bad Urach, a small town in the foothills of the Swabian Alps in Germany, as part of our involved with the Erasmus+ Funded Alliance for Sports Engineering Education (A4SEE) programme, and specifically the Innovation Market Challenge that we lead. Within this blog article we reflect on this experience.
The A4SEE Innovation Market Challenge pitches an industrial challenge to students who under the combined guidance of our academics, university partners, and industry experts, develop and prototype solutions that they then present back to the company. Previous industry challenges have been set by Vaude, specialists in sustainable outdoor clothing and equipment, and Labosport, an international sports surface test laboratory. This edition of the challenge sees MAGURA pitch a cargo bike braking problem.
SERG staff and European students at MAGURA headquarters.
The use of the bicycle has changed and increased significantly in the last few years. Rather than the bike being viewed by many as just a recreational piece of equipment, growing numbers now view it as an essential everyday item for transporting children, shopping, cargo. As a result, cargo bikes are becoming increasingly popular in Europe due to their ability to shift heavy loads, and particularly the “Long John” front cargo style design.
Although this style of bicycle is nothing new, it is being discovered by a whole new user base, along with some of its peculiarities in steering and braking. These are known to alter relative to the load carried on the bike, and this is where the challenge being set by MAGURA originates. A heavily loaded bike requires powerful brakes to come to a stop quickly and safely. However, an unloaded cargo bike with the same powerful brakes is susceptible to a locking of the front wheel under hard braking, resulting in a loss of grip that could result in a crash. Our staff, and partners, will be guiding students through the process of developing a solution to ensure that braking can be accomplished under all conditions without loss of grip.
Getting to grips with cargo bikes in the wet!
To fully understand a problem, it is always best to experience the issue first hand! So, we took to a very wet MAGURA carpark, with a pair of loaded and unloaded cargo bikes. After an understandably tentative start, the team quickly built understanding of the task, attempting different braking combinations and speeds. Everyone survived, nobody fell off, and the experience was invaluable.
We also had the opportunity to visit MAGURA’s assembly and injection moulding facilities, located a short drive from their headquarters. Here it was possible to see the creation of the braking systems from the injection moulding of complex threaded parts for their hydraulic brake systems, through to the final assembly, charging with mineral oil, and packaging of the completed components for shipping. A fascinating process but all top secret so sadly no photos.
Clik here to view.
Design workshop to get the students thinking about solutions
To properly kick start the challenge our colleague Arjen Jansen from TU Delft in the Netherlands, guided the students through a practical session that looked at the use of a double diamond framework to guide thinking and development of solutions. The students only have until the 11th December to crack this challenge, however we will be supporting them with regular online support sessions. On the 11th we will reconvene again this time in Delft, where solutions will be proposed and discussed. This session will also coincide with the official closure event of the A4SEE consortium, but only under its current guise and Erasmus funding. The programme has been successful in engaging students from across European universities in a range of educational activities that have brought industry and academia together. Our academic partners are committed to continue collaborating as we seek to further engage with industry and students alike.
For more information about the A4SEE programme please visit the A4SEE website, or check out the blog from Loni Nickel that reflects on her engagement with the A4SEE blog through her internship or the Special Topics in Sports Engineering 2023.
For more information about work we do in SERG check out our website, our annual review or our MSc Sports Engineering course.