We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Nimrod Riccardo Sapir about their original and creative Electric Bicycle design work. Nimrod Riccardo Sapir is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original electric bicycle works.
Nimrod Riccardo Sapir ("NRS") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Ozoa Electric Bicycle. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
NRS : Designed to be an iconic and recognized object, the inspiration is the letter 'Z', and the name is adopted to reflect its shape. The two 'O's are the wheels and the 'Z' is for the frame whilst the "a" is for the assisted electric element. Another inspiration is the font of the brand's logo.
NRS : This particular concept took about 1 day. Then, to prove the concept, it took about a week. It then took a further 8 months for finalizing and engineering. I took averagely longer as the company was creating another concept in parallel to the OZOa. It took another 5 months to bring it into production.
NRS : When thinking up a concept, we first had to do a lot of research. This involved observing hundreds of bicycles and electrical bicycles for their ergonomics, construction and function. All parts were marked in their average ergonomic anchor points and the frame was disregarded. We searched for clean and identifiable frame shapes which would contain electric parts (e.g.: battery and controller) and would bear the weight of riders. Our fourth attempt gleaned a "z" shape. Our research into other existing products in the market with this shape revealed some unsuccessful attempts, none of which had passed the concept stage.
NRS : The product was commissioned first from the company who wanted to create an electric bike and it is currently in the production phase.
NRS : Bike lovers Electric bicycle lovers Urban commuters Commuters who favor e-scooter but due to the commuting distance prefer to sit Fans of the INOKIM brand who find it challenging to ride an e-scooter People who find it difficult to ride an electric scooter
NRS : I think it's one of the most iconic of the e-bikes so far. You can immediately recognize the "z" shape within it. The OZOa also has a suspension system and a removable battery which can be charged either away from the bicycle or when it's still inside.
NRS : The inspiration is the letter 'Z', and the name is adopted to reflect its shape. The two 'O's are the wheels and the 'Z' is for the frame whilst the "a" is for the assisted electric element.
NRS : Achieving the desired shape presented production challenges. Small radii in the "Z" shaped corners preclude the use of bending material. So, we divided the frame into sections, combining them into one continuous line. We created extruded aluminum profiles to cover the length and width of the bicycle. The sections were welded together and plastic covers were added where needed.
NRS : We have an in-house R&D team lead by Wei Zhang and together we found solutions for all issues.
NRS : Combining the role of technology. Technology takes a very high role as we needed to combine the different electric parts such as battery, motor, throttle, and controller into one display screen in front of the user upon which he can observe information about the OZO bike such as battery condition, maximum speed, average speed, trip distance and more.
NRS : The research involved observing hundreds of bicycles and electrical bicycles for their ergonomics, construction and function. All parts were marked in their average ergonomic anchor points and the frame was disregarded. We searched for clean and identifiable frame shapes which would contain electric parts (e.g.: battery and controller) and would bear the weight of riders. Our fourth attempt gleaned a "z" shape. Our research into other existing products in the market with this shape revealed some unsuccessful attempts, none of which had passed the concept stage.
NRS : Achieving the desired shape presented production challenges. Small radii in the "Z" shaped corners preclude the use of bending material. So, we divided the frame into sections, combining them into one continuous line. We created extruded aluminum profiles to cover the length and width of the bicycle. The sections were welded together and plastic covers were added where needed.
NRS : I thought that the OZOa is unique enough to share and to test myself whether it really hits the mark. I'm glad that I got this award as approval.
NRS : It is my first effort in designing an e-bike after several e-scooters. As the market is already saturated with electric bikes, I wasn't sure that I would be able to come up with an original "good enough" concept.
