XAccess engineers create Worldbike prototype in Berkeley Workshop

The fastest growing segment of the bike industry is downhill mountain bikes, which weigh 45 pounds, cost $3000, feature motorcycle suspension, and cannot be ridden uphill due to their extreme geometry. (To use one requires a chairlift or a truck.)

Last November, Xaccess started asking "what would it look like if the bike industry applied its manufacturing and design resources towards building products for the developing world?" We set out to create an attractive and highly functional prototype of a bicycle for the other 99% of the planet.

It would have long-lasting, easily replaceable parts. It would have cargo capacity for an entrepreneur to make a living. It would be a sturdy, flexible system, equally adept at carrying water, hay, produce, or schoolchildren.

We called it the Worldbike, and used our Berkeley headquarters as light manufacturing zone between March and May of this year.

Running through most of the tests on our test plan with ease, the Worldbike is light and quick. It's stiffer and faster than any other bike in the Xaccess fleet. With a simple frame design, it can be produced and painted on the same assembly lines that are currently churning out cheap mountain bike knock-offs for K-Mart.

Our strategy for the Worldbike is to continue the product design process by iterating through one more prototype. Then we will partner with a company to produce containers of Worldbikes for cities in developing countries. The initial customers might be delivery firms, Peace Corps volunteers, or Fair Trade coffee firms looking to improve quality of life for their farmers.

The worldbike was fantastic proof of what can be done in our Berkeley facility with inexpensive or salvaged materials and skilled local volunteers.