#HTE

Today’s Urban Design Observation: Hacking Cold- and Wet-Weather UX Improvements Onto a Bicycle

This bicycle shackled to a signpost on Crosby Street seems to be owned by a creative cyclist.

It has been brutally cold lately here in NYC, and the rider has fashioned insulated hand-shields for the handlebars.

It’s not uncommon to see local delivery people hack something like this up, but they are usually made out of common plastic shopping bags.

In contrast, this has been made from a bubble-wrap shipping envelope. I imagine the bubbles confer greater insulation.

I took a quick peek inside their satchel to gain some clue as to the rider’s identity–are they a deliveryperson, a messenger, a civilian?–but didn’t want to look too long as it’s nosey and there were other people on the street. Anyways all I caught a glimpse of was something packaged with Japanese script on it. If any kanji/katakana readers can tell me what it says, I’d be obliged.

The rider has also used the tape to widen the mud flap, to catch those splatters that defeat the object’s stock width.

It also appears that the tape up front, in the center of the handlebars, does something to lessen the amount of road splatter that reaches the rider.

Because I’m only a casual cyclist, I cannot deduce why the rider has covered so much of the bike in this white tape; to make it easier to see the splatter for cleaning? Hardcore cyclists among you, please explain or offer theories!