Jano Dual - Wood Composite Bike - Cycling With The Trees

Created from the design studios of GP designpartners of Wien, Austria, the Jano Dual Bike has a plywood veneer composite frame that is is formed in two halves using 3-dimensional wood forming techniques. The Jano Dual is the design inspiration of Roland Kaufmann who created the concept as part of a design thesis project.

In testing, the wood composite frame has been found to perform similar to carbon composites during performance handling, and further design improvements are ongoing. By creating 3-dimensional forms with the plywood composite veneer, the frame becomes stronger, stiffer, and the wood thickness can also be reduced by as much as 45% from a flat wood veneer sheet design.

The Jano Dual's specifications are a bonded plywood veneer frame, with a belt drive that is mated to a rear hub gear change mechanism. For lighting, there is a low resistance hub dynamo, with frame integrated front and rear LED lights. The Jano can also be fitted with a frame bag and luggage carrier and front and rear mudguards.

GP designpartners is targeting the Jano Dual at the city commuter and leisure bicycle rider, who may also do a moderate amount of off road riding. It is expected that further refinement of the plywood composite frame will be made and advanced production techniques implemented on the production models.