We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Aldis Blicsons about their original and creative Wooden Balance Bike for Kids design work. Aldis Blicsons is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original wooden balance bike for kids works.
Aldis Blicsons ("AB") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Choppy Wooden Balance Bike for Kids. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
AB : Balance bike Choppy is the second product of an enthusiastic and friendly design and engineering team. After the success of our first balance bike - the award-winning Brum Brum Bike - we took up the challenge of making our next bike lighter, more nature-friendly, comfortable, and better suited for kids up to 4 years of age.
AB : To build this bike as eco-friendly as possible. Less metal (no metal screws or bearings), tool-less assembling and 2nd life for packaging.
AB : We are now approaching the point when Choppy will begin commercial production and set off to conquer the world.
AB : First sketches came out in 2017. Industrial prototyping ended just in 2021.
AB : We just had an idea to create a balance bike for kids without any screws and it all began by itself.
AB : All parts are produced, packed and sent out by outsource companies. We have a back office to manage it.
AB : We have huge knowledge of how to design and produce a wooden balance bike for kids and this was the next step with better solutions.
AB : Predecessor wooden balance bikes for kids and some unrealistic design concepts from several designers.
AB : Choppy is the perfect first bike for 1-4 year-olds. Main customers are parents who care about sustainability and are eco-friendly minded.
AB : Choppy is probably the lightest wooden balance bike for kids in the world. It can be assembled as a construction game or building blocks without using any tools. Its packaging box has a board game printed on it, making Choppy even more fun.
AB : It looks like chopper motorcycle on lowest position of assembly for the smallest drivers. We made the word "Chopper" more playful.
AB : Everything happens in my head and I use paper or software just to understand, if it works or not.
AB : The balance bike features an innovative design without a single screw. Any adult can assemble the Choppy bike and adjust its height without using any tools.
AB : We worked together with Riga Technical University Science and Innovation Center on prototyping and best material research. Industrial prototyping happened in factories where we are producing the bike - Daiļrade koks (wood), Rumba-V (plastic) and Stora Enso (packaging).
AB : Knowledge about plywood bending techologies and possibility of machines being able to cut out very precise details had a big role. Special type of polymers helped use plastic bearings instead of metal and made tubeless tires of wheels.
AB : We collected all the measurements and weights of our friends toddlers to calculate the correct shape of bike.
AB : Industrial prototyping. Every single change took months. There are big machines with big forms that you need disassemble, change shape of the form and then assemble. Then try again.
AB : We had many awards with our first product - Brum Brum bike. Submission of Choppy bike to the competition was logical.
AB : Design studio STUM was born during this process. Now we have a place to design, prototype and have fun.
