The first Oregon Manifest’s Constructor’s Challenge brought out some pretty nice bikes from various builders, all competing to design and race the “ultimate utility bike.” We have some great photos and video on the results of that contest here.
For 2011, they’ve created a new category that’s sure to yield some amazing utility bike designs.
Three well known builders will be paired with award winning industrial design firms and compete against the other builders, all having to use the same guidelines and rules. That means the bikes will have to be ridden through the challenge hauling both rider and various cargo that’s picked up along a checkpointed route.
The design collaborations are IDEO x Rock Lobster, FuseProject x Sycip and Ziba x Signal. We’ve seen some gorgeous bikes from all of these guys at 2010 NAHBS, so this new twist should be nothing short of awesome. Even better, the entire 9 month process will be chronicled on design website Core77.
In addition to these collabos, the contest is open to 35 framebuilders and 5 student teams. The contest takes place in Portland, OR, on Saturday, September 24. Via BicycleDesign.net.
