BikeRadar was recently steered in the direction of this new 3D bike configurator from Ukrainian firm Elementals Studio. Available to use in a web browser or on tablet and mobile devices, the software produces accurate 3D renderings of customisable mountain bikes with the aim of simplifying the selection of bike parts.
Despite offering just two frame and fork options at present, the versatility of the configurator is impressive – there are options to alter everything, from the fork suspension travel to the colour of minor components such as spokes and brake lines.
It's not just for looks though – the configurator can also display geometry information that alters as you cycle the fully working suspension. The attention to detail is incredible – for example SRAM's X9 rear mech can be disassembled to show its individual components.
There's certainly a market for the configurator – a glance at many bike forums reveals active threads requesting photoshops of new parts and colour changes to their machines. Car manufacturers already offer this sort of interactive configurator to promote new models and showcase their options. Elementals Studio think this technology could find a similar use in the bike industry – imagine being able to view a fully accurate 3D model of your custom-built bike before it's even ordered!
The company behind the project are already working hard to expand the range of frames and forks offered through the configurator; new additions are being prioritised through a poll system on the company website. The most popular result from the first poll was for Specialized's Demo frame, so that'll be the first to be added. Beyond this, the firm plans to offer a function to test the bikes, making this a potential base for a pretty awesome game..
To find out more, visit www.bikeconfig.com and have a play. Should you want to show your support for this project, donations can be made to the developers through the app version for Android or iOS tablets\phones.
The 3D bike configurator can 'disassemble' SRAM's X9 rear mech to show its individual components
