Photos: Spinning new ideas for bikes and trikes

The 10th International Bicycle Design Competition handed out its latest awards at the 2006 Taipei International Cycle Show earlier this month. This year’s winners included fold-up bicycles, bikes that communicate directly with their riders and several three-wheelers as well.\r\n

\r\n\r\nAn international committee began the judging process last summer, reviewing computer designs. The 21 finalists were then required to build models for the final judging at the beginning of the year. Following are the winners.

The grand prize winner was the Trix, a multifunctional tricycle from French designer Yves Plattard. It’s designed \r\nfor work, carrying a passenger or shopping.

Also in production is this Chinese motorized tricycle, which can hit speeds of about 14 mph and has a cruising range of about 45 miles.

Back to the more fanciful designs, from this month’s award ceremony. For those occasions when your hands are full and riding a bike isn’t feasible, there’s the B-shirt. The bicycle’s frame and component are meant to be worn by its sometime rider, just like a jacket.

One of the design winners was the Bikepack, a bicyle that’s meant to be folded up knapsack-style. No more leaving your bike exposed for thieves and vandals.

The Skidscooter skateboard design is intended to work on both water and land. An electric-powered skateboard on land, the it can also be used as a surfboard with an electric motor.

The third-prize winner was the New City Bike, from a Chinese designer–you can ride it, or put several together to form a park bench.

Kids who love their tricycle can use it to learn to ride a bicycle. In theory, familiarity with the frame will help the tot balance–making the transition to two wheels easier.

This bicycle can grow with kids. This design features three separate adjustment points which can extend its life from three to eight years.

Sandwich bikes just need a simple tool to assemble or disassemble–with all the parts fitting into a container.

This design is for wheelchair users and their attendants.

This off-road tricycle is built for rider stability and safety. The \r\nhandlebar is a stock absorber, which can \r\nhelps maintain balance even over a rugged surface.

This bicycle would fold into a box.