With the increasingly serious urban traffic jam and the enhancement of residents' awareness of environmental protection, electric bicycles have gradually become the main means of transportation for residents by virtue of their characteristics of portability, energy efficiency and economy, and are also the first choice for connecting the "last kilometer" with urban rail transit system. 

Honbike U4, the 2022 DIA Bronze Award winner in the Product Group, is specially developed for urban commuting and leisure travel. It skillfully integrates more functions and practical features in a limited space, and is fashionable, lightweight, intelligent, safe, comfortable and cost-effective.

Honbike U4

2022 DIA Bronze Award in the Product Group

Liu Li, Zhao Xiaowei, Wujun, Liu Xingju, Lu Qibing 

The fifth from left is the representative of the design team of Honbike U4

Honbike U4 looks like an ordinary bicycle, and you can't easily tell that it is assisted by an electric drive system. Where is its battery located? In fact, the battery is hidden in the upper tube of the frame, which contains 432Wh cells, and can provide a battery range of about 100 kilometers per charge. Based on the inner wiring design, the power line and brake line of the whole bike cleverly pass through the gap between the battery tube and the frame. The frame is made of high-strength aviation aluminum, and its strength is 1.6 times better than that of ordinary aluminum alloy.

The components are highly integrated into the bike. The integrated handlebar comprises plastic parts of the lamps, handlebar tubes made of cut profiles and die-casting head tubes embedded with instruments. The one-piece magnesium alloy wheel adopts die casting process, which can save manual assembly cost and is free of maintenance. The 250W high-speed rear hub motor is integrated in the wheel, which is small in size but can provide enough power for urban riding. The intelligent SmartHON system can automatically adjust the bike according to the terrain and the cyclist's riding mode, and provides the necessary assistance for riding.

According to the design team, U4 adopts a minimalist design, and its design difficulty lies in how to ensure the stability of the bike, and thus achieve the unity of form and function, and realize brand differentiation. Moreover, they should also consider how to improve the service life and battery range, how to optimize the drivability, safety and comfort of bike, and how control the cost, so that it can become a high cost-effective product. 

Therefore, at the beginning of the design process, the team delved into the needs and pain points of urban travelers and carefully analyzed the market development status. In the design process, the team paid attention to details and user experience, striving to make every detail meet the needs and expectations of users. After technological innovations and technological exploration, it took5 months for them to develop this fashionable, intelligent, low-maintenance and cost-effective e-bike.

This bike was launched in August 2022 and are mainly exported to European and American countries, and the target users are fashion-loving urban commuters and leisure cyclists. Now it is sold at about USD1,699. With the core competitive advantages of high quality and high cost performance, the product has gained a firm foothold in the market and won the trust and support of users.

The upgrade plan of Honbike U4 is also progressing steadily. The design team focuses on the real feedback of users and market trends, and takes market demand as the guide to upgrade product configuration and accessories and carry out research and development of new series, providing differentiated services for different users and continuously offering high-quality designs for the electric bicycle industry.

DIA in the eyes of designers

According to the design team of Honbike U4, DIA is a well-known and authoritative industrial design competition in China, with high degree of specialization, meticulous and thoughtful organization and fast feedback. In addition, it has promoted the development of domestic industrial design industry, let more and more people attach importance to and participate in industrial design, and help create a good industrial design innovation ecology. They expressed their sincere wishes to the DIA Committee: “We hope DIA will become the fifth largest global design competition as soon as possible and make a name in the world. ”

Information provider  | Design team of Honbike U4

Editor  |  Wu Zhiwen

Executive Editor  |  Fan Fei 

Reviewer  | Yang Duoying

Gather Great Wisdom to Shape the Future of Intelligent Manufacturing

Follow us

You will learn more information about the 2013 DIA award-winning works