Designing Bike Shift Lever with User-Centric Design Approach

One of the important points in user-centric design is to pay attention to the physical and psychological conditions of the user and the errors caused by the product’s undesirable design. The bicycle shifting system is one of the most complex components that many interactions of users with it have an effect on them. This research recognizes the exact needs of cyclists and provides a solution to create effective user interaction. In this research, using a combination method, a qualitative analysis was carried out using the AEIOU method, 50 cyclists of the Tabriz Islamic Art University were selected using non-random sampling method. Using a desirability testing of 3 subjects, a quantitative survey was done. After the preparation of the design requirements, by using SCAMPER technique, ideas were evaluated through DFV technique and the final idea was developed. The results showed that users are faced with more psychological than physical problems during a gear shift. According to the desirability testing, the subject (2) with a score of 883, and the ratio of desirability of 1.212 compared to the subject (3) and 1.256 compared to the subject (1), was the most desirable product, which indicates the direct relation of the utility rate with the simplicity. Since most users’ mistakes in understanding the logical displacement of the gears lead to poor bike switching conditions, the design of the product focuses on reducing user error and the number of additional operations and accelerating the user decision making process.