The Ghana Bike Challenge: Student Design Group Shows Ingenuity

When like-minded individuals meet and collaborate, amazing things can happen. Just ask MS&E professor and UW-Madison bicycle design group mentor Thomas F. Kelly. The student design group, called CyclePaths, began in the fall of 1994 when Josh Bogle approached Professor Kelly about building a recumbent bicycle. Kelly and Bogle agreed to meet and work on Sunday afternoons in Kelly's basement. Eventually, word spread and Kelly and Bogle were joined by Ken O'Rourke, Jeff Schenk and Alex O'Day.

In January 1995, the group decided to take their work "public" and entered it as a Engineering EXPO project. In April 1995, to the delight of the Expo crowds, they built one of their bikes in the lobby of the Engineering Research Building and took third prize for small exhibits. They also caught the attention of Expo attendee Robert Tette who would soon present them with their next challenge.

"We'd been designing and building conventional bikes. I wanted the group to take it a step further--to move beyond conventional bike design. Robert Tette was the ideal catalyst. He presented us with a challenging, real-world opportunity to apply our ingenuity," noted Kelly.

Student design group's Ghana bicycle (36K JPG)

Tette, an engineer for General Motors, is from Ghana, a republic in West Africa. Though he lives and works in Detroit, Tette is committed to building the economy of his homeland by identifying appropriate technology and bringing it home. Every third or fourth summer Tette returns to Ghana to work to start companies that will use appropriate technology to produce marketable goods for Ghana's people and support the country's economic growth.

According to Tette, transportation is a critical issue for Ghana. He sees the efficient transportation of goods as an essential component of building a healthy infrastructure and economy in Ghana. About 80% of all goods are transported in the traditional way--on the heads of the country's women. And while most woman can carry 40-50 lbs for 4-5miles, head loading, as it is called, has its obvious limits.

Tette's proposal was that the group design a bicycle specifically for use in Ghana utilizing materials and technology that would allow it to be produced and marketed in Ghana. It seemed the perfect challenge for CyclePaths, and with the support of a $5,000 KNAPP grant to cover the cost of tools and materials, project leaders Jeff Schenk and Brett Zimmerman took the helm. Schenk and Zimmerman were assisted by four other students: Brett Birschbach, Brie Howley, Joe Lind, and Niels Thogersen.

The Ghana bicycle had to meet five main criteria. It had to be 1) inexpensive (under $1,000), 2) rugged enough to handle heavy use and rough terrain, 3) easy to build and repair with tools readily available in Ghana, 4) versatile enough to carry a variety of types of goods and, 5) culturally appropriate.

"Cost was clearly a critical factor," commented Kelly. "A vehicle that no one in Ghana could afford to own or produce would be useless, so keeping costs as low as possible was one of our main concerns," he continued.

And yet, because Tette envisioned the bicycles being purchased collectively by villages for communal use, the bicycles also needed to be rugged enough to stand up to very heavy use and rough terrain. This need for durability and the easy-to-repair criteria made steel tubing the clear choice. "Aluminum frames require a factory setting because they need to be heated-treated, while steel frames require only simple welding techniques and tools," he continued.

An active suspension system was similarly rejected in favor of a single-tube frame with controlled flexure. "At the low speeds the bicycles are likely to be used, the added complexity and cost of a separate suspension system seemed unwise. We elected to make the whole frame part of the suspension system by giving it controlled flexure," he commented.

Cultural considerations were also an important factor in the design. Women traditionally play a critical role in the transportation of goods in this predominantly Muslim country. But since Muslims consider it inappropriate for women to ride bicycles, the Ghana bike was designed with a single, bench-like seat long enough to comfortably fit two riders. The bike is configured so that it can be powered by one or two riders.

Tette is returning to Ghana this summer to lay the groundwork for the company he hopes may one day produce the bikes for the villages of Ghana. The bike is designed with a 4'x6' interior bed and the frame is built to handle loads of up to 1,000 lbs. Even assuming a reduced load of 500 lbs, the Ghana bike will mean two people in a village will be able to do the work of forty. What a great way to make a real difference.