About

Bicycles were invented in the nineteenth century. They are an important form of transportation for people around the world. More bicycles have been manufactured than any other kind of vehicle. Bicycles are used as daily transportation for many people, but they also used for fun, and cycling is a sport too. There are many kinds of bicycles, such as road bikes, mountain bikes, BMX bikes, racing bikes, and so forth. Bicycles are made of many parts, including the frame, seat, handlebars, pedals and drive chain, wheels, and breaks. You also get useful accessories for bicycles, such as mud guards, lights, puncture kits, bike packs, bicycle computers, and so forth.
 

Your task

Design a useful bicycle accessory for a cyclist. Your bicycle accessory should fit on a bike. It can be for any kind of bicycle, for young cyclists or adults, and for daily transportation, leisure, or sport, as you like. Your bicycle accessory may be made of any suitable material, and it may be battery operated if necessary, but it must safely enclose the electric parts. Construct a working model of your bicycle accessory and test it. Work on this project on your own, or together with a classmate.
​​​​​​​

The design thinking stages

Follow the five design thinking stages to ensure that you think of everything and do everything necessary in order to succeed in your design project. First, you must UNDERSTAND the design topic and the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DECIDE what is important to your design solution and what is not so important. Then you CREATE to come up with ideas and improve them. Then you BUILD your chosen design idea in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Finally, you TEST your built design idea to get the opinions of users. ​​​​​​​Use the methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you follow the design thinking stages.
​​​​​

​​​​​​​Note for teachers

Doing student design projects that use electrical parts or microcontrollers such as Arduino requires:

• teachers who are able to supervise such a project;
• laboratories or workshops with electrical and electronic parts and tools;
• and students who are trained to work with electricity, tools, and equipment.

Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the BUILD Stage for Level III to safely supervise this design project.