Jruiter is a design firm that can take a napkin drawing of just about anything to the working prototype stage. I caught sight of this hardtail and thought that, while it may be impractical, it serves as an inspiration to the cycling community—how far can we go? What is the minimum technology required to pedal around the dirt on two wheels? My friend Billy Broadfoot is perfectly happy burning up the trails near Prescott, Arizona, on a rigid chromoly fixie. Perhaps there is a way to eliminate the chain and two sprockets.And, the ever-expanding off-road unicycle cult?
Our project, simplicity in inner city bicycling, was at first glance a fun aesthetic opportunity in new trends, color, and materials. Our target lived / worked in an inner city environment with minimal space. Bicycling at this level can be more about fashion and culture than speed and performance. After the first few brainstorm sessions we knew there where bigger opportunities. The project ended up rethinking what a “frame” meant, getting ride of basic key components, and creating a new type of compact bicycling. Inspired by the first the "hobby horse" from it's simplicity and secondly the cafe race scene. Each is an exercise in stripping something down to its core.
