Downhill mountain biking uniform
Lisa Holmes
Queen Margaret College
Year 13 Materials Technology, Full year project
Teacher: Barbara Knight
Lisa Holmes is friends with a group of keen, young mountain bikers who regularly compete as a team in mountain biking races – including night-time / 'moonlight' races and downhill specialist events. The team did not have a team uniform to wear - and so, Lisa set about developing a conceptual design for the 'ultimate' downhill mountain-biking uniform.
A special consideration for downhill mountain biking gear – it must protect the rider's body from injury that may be sustained from the inevitable falls that occur in this type of extreme sport. Night time racing also requires some form of lighting; not only to aid the rider's vision when navigating dark courses, but so they themselves can be seen by other riders – to avoid collisions.
Fashion is also a cultural consideration in this type of sporting activity – looking good is an important consideration. Certain brand-name clothing items are favoured.
Brief
To develop a functional, durable, protective – prototype team uniform suitable for downhill mountain biking. Lisa would develop the prototype to fit one specific member of the team – with design input and approval by all other team members.
Specifications:
- Comfortable
- High quality construction
- Durable, robust, ergonomic design considerations
- Include body protective 'armour'
- Use high tech fabrics for extreme sport conditions
- Breathable fabrics – for hot and cold conditions
- Include 'lighting' devices for night-time visibility
- Team colours
- Team logo
- Fashionable – appropriate to the sporting culture
Teacher comment
Lisa carried out an exhaustive research study into what is required of the specialist clothing used for the extreme sport of downhill mountain biking. She looked at the good points of existing retail items – and the failure points of the team's existing items – to gather the key factors the team deemed to be important to make their sport clothing functional.
She went biking with the team – to get in their shoes – and get a feel for the environmental conditions faced by the riders. It was clear the right type of materials was going to be an important consideration for a successful design. Lisa contacted several sporting materials manufacturers and was able to secure the purchase of some high-tech sporting fabric off-cuts to use in her prototype design, as well as some donated materials from these supportive companies. This allowed her to really develop her ultimate design into a functional solution.
During their development, Lisa showed her designs to experts in this sporting field to gather as wide a range of opinions as possible – to ensure she really was meeting the gear needs of the sport and not being confined by the ideas and preferences of the client team, although their opinions were obviously the key considerations.
Lisa investigated a variety of potential methods to 'light up' the gear and carried feasibility studies on possible alternative lighting methods – including solar, electrical, glow paints. She contacted leading manufacturing companies producing electronic lighting devices; and one of them, Exelite Industries, kindly provided her with some leading edge lighting devices, which she successfully incorporated into the design and construction of the final solution.
Development of the 'body armour' was a long and challenging process as the armour had to be lightweight, flexible, protective and tough and able to be stitched onto the garment by sewing machine. Development required many mock-ups, tests in the 'real environment' and pattern modifications until the most functional solution was finally arrived at.
Lisa's initiative in contacting 'real' leading edge manufacturing companies, telling them about her project, and then being supplied with some high-tech materials really set her project apart and moved it from just a good potential conceptual design to indeed being the 'ultimate' prototype design – something made from the ultimate materials for proveable functionality.
The final design solution was tested by her nominated team member client in the actual environment – and was approved by the accompanying team members.
Related links: Te Papa Souvenirs case study
