Page 6 - Demo

Taiwan's Present to the WorldLike this surely and without any exaggeration the International Bicycle Design Competition can be described. The effort to organise this event since so many years is immense. Invited are all creative Bicycle centred brains all over the world, everybody thinking about any kind of Human Power Vehicles, with all their more or less great visions, projects and improving ideas to present them to a highly interested and most potential bicycle industry.Every sheet of paper, every sketch, finished technical drawing, homepage or even prototype is welcomed and accordingly is the variety of the entries. As a Juror to be one of the first to th examine those transmittals of this 10 IBDC was an honouring privilege, a pleasure to browse through all these so widespread varying ideas. What a colour vibrant rainbow of international velophile inspirations.The Bicycle as the best known as and - since more than 200 years - longest developed of all Human Powered Vehicles has fused into a single, functional unit between Man and Machine with after all these years stilla huge potential of development and reinforcement. New materials, new concepts for brakes, lights, tires, drive trains are changing the concept of the modern safety bicycle considerably.We almost certainly can expect that Taiwan's IBDC is speeding up the further development of the bicycle. Today's most efficient transportation machine will grow with Taiwan's help to the even more efficient bicycle of the future. The IBDC as well has a stimulating influence to improvements of all other HPV's, like boats, airplanes and helicopters.Arriving first time in Taiwan, Taichung impressed me as a rich and highly modern town, an impressing mixture of most recent and traditional architecture, with an incredibly number of trendy restaurants and a well established huge industrial area. The outstanding hospitality of the IBDC Team enabled me to visit many important places it this vivid town. Astonishingly there are not many cyclists to see in the hometown of Taiwan's Bicycle Industry, but this will change of course with some more bicycle related infrastructure and forced bicycle lobbying.After Taichung I visited Taipei. The Chinese Palace Museum, that huge 101 Tower and the Jaoho Night Market became my favourite places. I tried to learn about the history of Taiwan and its special relationship to China, and was quite surprised at the highly 'westernised' Taiwan lifestyle. Very different from my previous experiences in Asian lifestyles, which I could gain during stays in Malaysia and Japan. Taiwan has its unique history and developed an own Chinese way of life, involving shaping influences from America, Japan and Europe.Back home in Europe, I started to work for some month in Greece. There by chance I attended the 46th International Thessaloniki Film Festival. To my big surprise and great pleasure I discovered in the programme quite a lot of movies by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, one of Taiwan's most famous directors. Watching most of these was a good opportunity to understand Taiwan's history and way of life more and even better.I wish the very best to the IBDC Team for this year's Award Ceremony in Taipei as well as for all coming Bicycle Design Competitions in Taichung,Walter UlreichW O R D S F R O M J U R Yth On March 8 , the opening day of the Taipei International Cycle Show, the jury of the prestigious International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC) will announce the award winning design concepts to this year's IBDC finals. The IBDC is the most important and leading design th competition for innovative bicycle designs in the bike industry. This year's finals are the 10 in a row, organised since 1996 by the CHC (the Taiwan Cycle and Health Centre), previously called TBIRDC. A selection of some of the designs which made it to the finals.In the last 10 years the IBDC has grown into a renowned global platform for new cycling concepts. Often I have the feeling that the bike industry does not properly value the importance of this institution. The last new cycling concept which became a smashing hit was the mountain bike. Most of us may remember that the commercial introduction of mountain bikes was around 1985 and it's success lasted till 1995. Ever since the bike industry has been waiting for the next new thing after the mountain bike. No need to wait: young, creative and internationally oriented designers present themselves every year again during the IBDC bicycle design contest.th For the 10 IBDC the CHC received nearly 1100 registrations from 59 countries. In August 2005 an international jury selected 24 designs to go the finals in January 2006. Last month the same jury decided which of these 24 designs were rd nd st going to be awarded with 3 , 2 and 1 price.Looking at the 24 designs from the finals there is a clear trend towards new cycling concepts, towards new ways of cycling. Some are indeed very refreshing and vital and have a strong focus on consumers, new consumer needs and new consumer trends in common. Key words are: compactness / multifunctional / hybrid combinations / micro mobility. The new cycling concepts are here..........I recommend everybody who is going to attend Taipei International Cycle Show, to also go and have a look at the CHC th exhibition of the 24 designs which entered the finals of the 10 IBDC. Take note: the exihibition is only during the first day th Author: Han Goes, was one of the international jurors to the 10 IBDC competition. He took part in the judgementof the qualifications during August 2005 and during the finals in January 2006.