“We are designers, why don’t we design something for ourselves?” – We asked each other when we couldn’t find a stylish and functional bicycle basket for our everyday commute.
As designers, and as bike riders, we imagined a unique carrying accessory that is more than just a regular basket. Besides being functional we wanted it to become an important part of our style too.
That’s how the PaperSpokes crates were born.
NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP THAT WE CAN START MANUFACTURING THE PRODUCTS!
We designed two customizable wooden bicycles crates that fit into the everyday need of the urban cyclers: one bigger sized, the ZIGZAG, and a smaller square shaped, the SPOTTY. They don’t just look amazingly beautiful, they are functional as well.
ZIGZAG is our bigger, rectangular crate with fixed shock cord.
SPOTTY is our smaller, square shaped crate with rearrangeable shock cord. The position of the cord can be easily changed, the holes on the crate give wild range of possibility.
Besides the high-quality materials we were keen on the details too, these make our crates real design products. The crates are registered design products in the European Union.
The PaperSpokes crates are made of locally sourced special wood that stands up to both the sun and the rain. No chemicals were used during manufacturing, the products are repairable and recyclable, and completely eco-friendly.
We wanted to add something extra that our product can offer. We wove a light-reflecting fiber in our elastic shock cords, thus they are perfect to help you with visibility at night.
The PaperSpokes crates are for everyday urban use: commute to work, go shopping, meet friends.
The SPOTTY is ideal for those, who love the variability. Everything important fits in, and it’s still a lovable size. The ZIGZAG is for cyclists, who love classic design and carry larger items. Their shock cords can fasten any object into the crate, or even on the outside surface of it.
You can fix both of the crates onto your own bike rack, either you choose the front or the back.
You can fix the crates to your own bicycle luggage rack with our mounting device, which is included to the crates.
Which bicycle luggage racks will they fit?
You don’t have luggage rack on your bicycle?
No problem, simply order one online, or choose one from your local bike shop.
(No luggage rack is included to the crates.)
We started to design our bicycle crates two years ago. First we studied existing solutions, and gathered a lot of new ideas. Then we experimented with functions and different materials, and developed designs of metal, wood, plastic and leather boxes, baskets and bags. More than 20 different product ideas were born, two of which we found to be worthy of implementation: two unusual wooden crates.
Since then we’ve kept experimenting with the right materials and technologies to make the wooden crates resistant to all kinds of weather. It took us a year to find the right technology assuring that no surface treatment is needed, the wood is resistant to the effects of the sunshine, and its water absorption is minimal, so it does not warp and keeps its original shape even after heavy rainfalls.
From the prototypes we learned, that we need to change many details. To make the crates waterproof we designed rain runoff holes to the bottom corners. We rounded the edges to make them less sensitive. Chamfered the holes to make the shock cords long lasting. We changed the original joints to loose tongue mitre to make the crates' structure stronger.
AGI is an architect and likes to experiment with new materials and unusual solutions. Meticulous attention to details characterizes her work. Find her on Instagram
ZSOFI is an architect. She has constant desire for discovering new ideas. She designed our crates and already has new PaperSpokes products in her mind. Find her on LinkedIn
VIRI is a designer and a businesswoman. She makes sure that everything works efficiently: running the company, pricing and designing the products. Find her on Twitter.
What are the inside dimensions?
ZIGZAG: 35.2 cm x 25.2 cm // 13.86 x 9.92 inches (13" notebook fits in)
SPOTTY: 24.5 x 24.5 cm // 9.65 x 9.65 inches (9.7" tablet fits in)
How much do they weight?
The crates weight ca. 2 kg (4.4 pounds). We recommend these crates for standard city-bikes, rather than extra-light fixies.
Where do you ship?
We ship worldwide.
Are there different colours?
No, but due to the colour variation of the natural wood, there can be colour differences in the final products.
The actual colour looks similar to this:
What we do with your money?
The manufacturers need a minimum order from most of the components. There are special components where we need a unique tool and that cost €3000. We would love to be able to do this ourselves, but the upfront costs are unrealistic for our small team.
Risks & Challenges
It's been almost 2 years since we started to work on this project. The crates’ developments are almost complete. The most important thing that still needs to be done is finalizing the accessories’ exact material specifications. We have great materials in our hands right now, but when we reach our goal we can go for even lighter and stronger solutions. The only risk we can foresee right now is a longer lead-time on the material which could potentially delay the delivery by 1 month, but so far we believe the shipping date in June can be met.