The “Dodo”

I designed a bike frame.

There were a lot of things that inspired me to do so, but I’ll leave that for another blog post.

It took around 3-4 years to finish the design. I was lucky to understand the difficulties of designing a frame. It gave me an opportunity to appreciate and respect all the bike brands that we carry here at Blue Lug today.

I am an amateur when it comes to designing, so I had some help from Rew10 Works for drawing the schematics and designs.

I trusted Ikeda-san at Rew10 Works’ skills, so I asked them for help. I asked for a bike that is…

– Fun and comfy to ride daily
– A rando style (my favorite kind of bikes)
– A bike that uses common parts.
– A wide variety of frame sizes for all people can ride.

The sample arrived and gave a little tweaks for the production model after taking it for a test ride.

Taiwan made frames were also important for me. Of course, handmade will be the best solution for making a bike with all my wishes and I LOVE handmade bikes. However, I wanted the bike to be affordable for everybody and I’m very happy to say that this will be the case.

Here are some build pics of the sample frames.

This is NOT a special bike, but I do wish that this bike will become an option for those of you who are wanting to bring in bicycles to their lives. It’s not a fast bike and it’s not a bike that you can ride miles with heavy load neither.

I designed this bike to be a bike that makes your day slightly better. I wanted to make a frame that will provide the need for people who chose bikes as a transportation.

The frame has a geometry that is great with sweep bars. I tried to make a bike that won’t make you tired despite riding everyday.

The frame has the essence of a Randonneur  bike, so this frame is great with drop bars. I’d like to point out that this bike is not for racing. The build you see above and below is a build by Konno at Cook Paint Works. Very clean build. I’d put a basket on it.

Some subtle but cool details. I wanted to keep the bike subtle. Frames with too much flashy details tend to make the bike stand out more than the rider, which I don’t like.

No need for unnecessary accessories. A front bag or basket is just enough for commuting. Maybe fenders if you are planning to ride everyday, regardless of the weather.

Rack mounts and a bunch of eyelets makes a bike practical, but they are excessive in most cases, so this frame does not have many. I like to keep it simple.

Having a kickstand always helps.

Rim brakes and quick release hubs are generally cheaper. You can also use old bike parts and give them a purpose again,

Smaller frame sizes for shorter riders like myself.

Some may consider this bike as a boring bike, but some people may think this is just the right bike they need. How do you feel about this bike?

I named the frame “Dodo”.

It is a name of a bird that could not fly, which went extinct. I thought this was a perfect name for my bike.

Dodos went extinct due to humans killing them for consumption or capturing them for livestock. I thought the way that the bike industry is killing traditional parts like rim brakes and quick release hubs was similar to how they made Dodos extinct.

The frames should become official very soon. I’m very excited for them.

I’d be super stoked if someone becomes curious for these frames.

Thank you.