London Design Museum Bicycle Exhibition Showcases Gates Belts
The London Design Museum is located along the River Thames near historic Tower Bridge. Twenty-five years old, it is one of the world’s leading museums devoted to contemporary architecture and design. The Design Museum is currently hosting the Cycle Revolution exhibit, which “celebrates the diversity of contemporary cycling in Britain.” The exhibit’s tagline is: “Extraordinary bicycles and the people who ride them.”
Cycle Revolution, whose posters feature a Gates Carbon Drive system, is a multi-media exhibition that includes films, photography and several halls filled with bicycles of all types: historic antiques, clunkers, racing machines, cargo bikes, and modern commuters that are driving the UK’s bike revolution. “A record number of people are now riding bikes in London,” according to the exhibition guidebook, “with a total of 610,000 cycle journeys made every day.”
The NYC from Biomega, below, is among the stylish commuter bikes highlighted. Based in Copenhagen, Biomega’s motto is “furniture for locomotion,” and its philosophy is to create bicycles with the same intensity of design and function as automobiles.
Cycle Revolution also features award-winning Berlin-based brand Schindelhauer (below), and a well-written description about Gates belts and their emergence in the bike market.
The exhibit likewise features the work of Dutch wooden bike maker Paul Timmer. Timmer’s bike is made of ash, with aluminum dropouts and headset.
Cycle Revolution runs through the end of June. If you live in London or plan to visit, the Design Museum is worth a trip. Thanks to curator Donna Loveday and London’s leading urban bike shop, Velorution, for recognizing the role of Gates Carbon Drive in the evolution–and revolution–of modern bike design.designmuseum.org
