Debut of the new bike from Pensa: the Merge

The designs have been revealed and the polls are now open. Now is your chance to vote on the best bike as designed by a creative agency and a bike maker in five different American cities.

The idea is to come up with a new bike design that works for urban settings. The contest is sponsored by Levi’s, Autodesk and Fast Company (among others).

New York’s design was created by Pensa and Horse Cycles. The other competing cities are Portland, Seattle, Chicago and Los Angeles. “For us, it was a chance to tell a complete design story,” Pensa’s Mark Prommel said, as he walked us through the design of the bike.

The team decided to honor the history of bike design with their offering, and to also build it not for every city, but New York City specifically. This led to an emphasis on nimbleness and space.

One unique way the bike makes use of space is by creating four points of access inside the bike frame, where other equipment can be stored. The bike has built-in lights that run off the power of the bike’s motion.

Also tucked in the frame: an expandable bike rack and a USB charger. See other features of the single-speed bike in the photos below.

In order to vote on the bike, you have to watch all five videos. Then you can make your pick. Have a look and see the sort of choices designers made as they attempted to make a physical argument for bicycling as an American lifestyle, not just a hobby.

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