Small wheels, the next big thing.

The cycling industry has a wonderful tradition of being consumer led. Long before anyone came up with the term “crowd-sourced” or “open-innovation” cyclists were modifying their bikes to make them to do what they wanted them to do. BMX, Mountain Bikes and the recent Fixed Gear craze were all seeded by small tribes of enthusiastic riders before growing into multi-million dollar markets in their own right. The bicycle market is in a constant state of self segmentation. The industry just needs to keep its eyes open and see what the next evolutionary step will be.

To this observer at least, the next big step is small wheels. It is evident on the street that the 20” wheel bike has shrugged off its toy like perception and monkey bike association to gain widespread acceptance. So why has this quite dated form factor suddenly become the must have urban commuter? And more importantly how should the industry react?

The small wheel frame and the folding bike architecture has been around for over 70 years. The small wheel format first appeared in France in 1939 with a patent for “ Le Petit Bi”. The unconventional style was popularized in the 1960′s and 1970′s by two British manufacturers Moulton and Brompton. Alex Moulton made several key innovations and highlighted the benefits of the small F-frame and later space frame designs – lower centre of gravity, decreased rolling resistance, step through mounting and space efficiency for storage.

Brompton S-Type

So far, the reaction of the mainstream bike brands to this burgeoning trend has been slow and a little off the mark. The most noteable examples are the Cannondale Hooligan and the Puma offerings through Biomega. While both certainly ooze attitude, the position seems to be that the small wheel trend is just the next fixie trend. The market is being treated exactly like the fixed gear tribe. Fixies for commuters.

Cannondale Hooligan

The cool that applied to the fixie market does not translate directly over to these users. There is a kind of “appliance aesthetic” to small wheel bikes. A certain utility. They are, in appearance at least, anti-performance. This falls in line with a contemporary attitude toward consumption and urban behaviour, social responsibility and a sense of community. The things that this tribe use are a means to an end. They seek to project little more than simplicity, utility and fun.

I think it is this attitude that is driving the small wheel adoption. The small wheel trend tells us that people want a different kind of bike than the 26”ers that are on the shop floor. They want a way to get around the city, a cost effective, healthy, green mode of transport. But they are not bike people. The bike is not the centre of the experience, it is a tool. It is all about getting from A to B. The urban commuter is now looking for an intelligent response to the fact that there are a lot of barriers to using a bike.

Bike manufacturers need to seize on the root need that is driving people toward the likes of Dahon and study what people really want to do with their bikes. Where are bikes stored? ( small space living, high rise apartments ) what is being carried ?(Laptop, Lunch ) and how do we dress when we cycle? (commuters often need to were their work wear). Applying some user centred design thinking could yield some real innovation beyond another me too hipster small wheeled bike.

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