Designing for confidence: the development of a pedal cycle for older adults through an industrial design approach

In many cultures, older adults are highly reliant on the car; however, at some point, they may need to reduce or stop driving, and this can impact their mobility and quality of life. As an alternative transport mode, cycling could maintain some mobility when transitioning from driving and provide health benefits to successful ageing. To date, very few bicycle designs exist that are specifically targeted towards the older rider. The centrepiece of this research and thesis, which represented a knowledge contribution to the establishment of Product Design Specifications for designing an appropriate pedal cycle for older adults, was the development of a survey and the fabrication of two full-size prototypes with levels of detail, designed to improve the aesthetics and ergonomic cycling comfort through various design methods.