It’s all about perception: Gianluca Gimini’s bikes

Drawing objects from memory can be a tricky affair not seldom crowned by a shattering outcome. Bringing even the most familiar of items to paper free-style may turn into an insoluble challenge. Yet unintentionally, it does occasionally (or frequently?) lead to astonishing creations – and to the „construction“ of somewhat adventurous contraptions. Such as the bikes computer-simulated by Italian designer Gianluca Gimini according to sketches made by a random group of people. He had confronted them with one simple task: to draw a men’s bike by heart.

Since starting his experiment in 2009, Gianluca had collected hundreds of awesome drawings and is still thrilled by the diversity of typologies they brought forward, accidentally.

In bike design, proportions are imperative

A closer look reveals that some of these most charming models – if ridden in practice – required users of unusual physique, equipped with overly long arms/legs and/or rumps in order to reach handle bar and pedals, or especially short thighs to run the bicycle in its predestined fashion. Other designs would make great velocipedes (no pedals, no chains!) or collapse altogether due to a handsome but statically unreliable frame.

… but don’t they all look quite sensational? Here come a few examples:

Out of reach: telescopic limbs required.

… an interesting concept …

Chain reaction impossible!

Enigma chain: where on a bike does it go? And what’s its purpose? Almost 90 per cent of the drawings showing the chain attached to the bike’s front wheel (or to both, front and rear) were done by females. On the other hand: this trendy bike – sketched by a male – has no chain at all (and also no pedals for that matter)! Ecco!

A pedigree velocipede: who needs pedals or a chain?