Over the course of the last four decades I have had the experience of working with numerous mechanical engineers . These engineers give me drawings and some make me sign non-disclosure agreements. My job is usually to interpret the engineers plans and make them into a rideable prototype. Some times my input is welcome but often it is ignored as many of these engineers are certain that they have beta tested their plans and have worked out every possible bug. This is seldom the case as most of these ideas on paper that I get from the engineers are based in a world of theory and mathematics. I can't claim to have even a small portion of the education needed to be a qualified engineer and I don't pretend to know what they- the engineers know. What I do know is what they don't know- the kind of knowhow that one gets from building stuff for 40+ years. I can look at a blueprint and see pretty quickly if there will be problems with the project-either in the building process or in the actual use of the finished project. To me , these things are obvious-to the engineer these factors lie outside their belief system. Since most of them don't actually build stuff they are disconnected from the building process and are depending on me to handle all of it. I am fully prepared to handle all of it but if the engineer chooses not to listen to my warnings about potential pitfalls of their design , they will be paying me to build something that will not work.
I'll take you back a little over a decade to a time when I got recruited to be part of a crew designing an early E-bike for a trade show competition. Design firms were paired up with builders such as myself to collaborate on projects. While I usually refuse to get involved in stuff like this I went along with being part of this project as the trade show was being put on by a good friend and I thought that it might be good to show some solidarity. I went into this project with the best intentions and the highest hopes. This was a non-paid job and the reward would be in the experience of working with people at a top-notch design firm. Honestly , I was excited and a bit intimidated as well.
Upon arriving at the design firm I was introduced to no less than 6-7 people who would all be working on this project. They were all fired up and cheerful at the start and everyone had something in the way of a suggestion of what this new bike project was going to be. The head of the design crew was very motivated and as the weeks went on it became apparent that the shape of this bike was going to be of his design and that all contributions by other people on the team (myself included) would bear his scrutiny. Ay first I didn't pick up on how driven this lead designer was but as time went on and people started to bail from the project I got a very clear picture. In the last few weeks leading up to the show the crew was less than half the original number-I never heard why people left, I only knew that the meetings were getting smaller .
When all the designing was done and the building of the actual bike was about to start I noticed a major problem with the design. I had a very simple solution to fix this problem- this was key , for if this problem was not fixed , the whole electric system of the bike could not have been hooked up and functional. Again, I'm just a bike builder and not an engineer but I know that if wires have to go from here to there, you sure as shit have to have a path for them that does not get in the way of other moving parts. I told the head designer of my idea-he dismissed it and fought to have some other solution......but there was none. His reason for not adopting my solution was the same reason he did not take many good suggestions- he did not want the physical appearance of the bike changed from his original design.
Here's my view on the original design of the bike: Problem # 1. This bike was designed by a 5'11" guy and he made it so anyone shorter than 5'11" would not fit properly on the bike. This eliminated about 60% of his potential customers. # 2. The sleek design of the bike did not allow for the kind of battery needed for longer cruising range , making this bike-although prettier-not as practical as other Ebikes .# 3. The bike had front wheel drive- while this might work fine in a car , the bike can become unstable if someone turns and accelerates. For an experienced rider this might not be an issue but for someone just getting into cycling this could be a real problem. These are three fundamental issues that made this bike, in spite of it's cool looks a product likely to fail.
The head designer was so taken with his design, despite the flaws that he decided to go commercial with it and create a company to build and sell the bikes. I wound up making three prototypes but I stopped working with the designer as he found that he would have to source the bikes from overseas in order to get the quantity and low price that he needed to make the bike attractive to consumers. At some point I no longer had any dealings with the project. I did own a piece of it though- part of the original agreement was that if this design was to become a product , I would retain a share as part of my design credit......even if the bulk of my design ideas were ignored. This would become an issue for the head designer a but later.
After a couple of years trying to be a bike company the head designer got an offer from a major company to buy his design and in effect, the company he had spent the last few years building. My guess is that his finances were running out and selling the company was the way for him to monetize all of his hard work. One thing stood in the way of the selling of the company - me. The head designer called me and asked if I would be willing to sell my share of the design. I was happy to do this so he relayed the information to the company who was the buyer. They made me a very low offer.....never having been in this position I was not sure what to do. I called a few industry people and they all said the same thing. Counter offer what you want and stick with that- this is a big company and they will pay you as it is a very small amount of money for them . I countered with what I thought was a reasonable amount and the offer was accepted. I finally got paid for a project I had done four year previously and the head designer got his windfall.
One thing that the money did not change, though- the bike still had the same problems. The new owners did what they could in regards to making more sizes for shorter people but the other flaws in the design remained and sales of the bike were very sluggish. After a couple of years the brand and the bike were discontinued and the pipe dream of the head designer would be relegated to the world of a multitude of failed products that wind up in landfills across the country. Things might have turned out different if the 'design co-operative project' really was co-operative and not the product of an inflexible leader . I have no idea what the head designer of the bike is doing today but I'll bet he's making plenty of money and doing just fine. There seems to be lots of money being given to people who have strong ideas, even if their ideas turn out to be bullshit. In my opinion, there is too much of this in the world and it is depressing that it exists in a business such as bicycles that is fragile and always fighting for its life.
That's my view , anyway- but don't listen to me.......I'm only the guy who puts the shit together.....what do I know ?
