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An experimental, student-created sidecar for a mini cargo bike dubbed the “MONoPOLE TOoLCAR” popped up on Instagram, and it looks incredible. With a swiveling pivot that seamlessly integrates into the bike’s urban design, this is a prototype we hope to see in production. For more on this experimental project, read on…
I see a lot of odd and interesting things when scrolling the Instagram Explore page, but this latest find stands out. Made by a former student of the ÉCAL/University of Art and Design in Lausanne, Switzerland, Till Seegräber‘s MONoPOLE TOoLCAR prototype is something special. The TOolCAR looks like a sort of sidecar addition to what already is an incredibly capable, cargo-centric design.
Per the university’s website, the TOoLCAR looks to be the result of a BA of industrial design project intent on encouraging students to “create projects with the potential to seamlessly integrate in our contemporary society and its economy, leveraging their personal affinities and interests to enhance their work.” Given MONoPOLE seems to have taken an interest, we hope Till got an “A” grade. Like all good designs, the TOoLCAR appears an obvious addition when presented, but what’s amazing about the design is that it looks capable of pivoting and swiveling with the bike through its attachment mechanism beneath the integrated front rack.
To get a better idea about how the TOoLCAR came to be, I reached out to Till, who was kind enough to share a little background on it:
“The project began during my final year at ECAL in Lausanne, where I was studying design. For my semester project, I approached MONoPOLE with the idea of collaborating on something unique. Nicola, the co-founder of MONoPOLE and a designer himself, was enthusiastic about the project from the start.
The core idea was to create a sidecar that could be quickly attached to the MONoPOLE bike, providing extra cargo capacity when needed. The challenge was to design it in a way that wouldn’t compromise the bike’s core qualities—its agility and speed. To solve this, I designed the sidecar to be fully articulated, ensuring that it could carry larger loads without affecting the bike’s sporty character.
As urban spaces become increasingly congested, the trend has been toward larger cargo bikes to accommodate more cargo. However, I believe that another solution lies in smaller, more adaptable designs. The detachable TOoLCAR is intended to provide exactly that—an efficient way to carry larger loads when needed while preserving the bike’s agility and compact size. By offering flexibility without compromising performance, I hope this design can play a role in reducing car dependency in the cities of the future.
Like the MONoPOLE bike, the sidecar is constructed from steel, ensuring durability and strength while maintaining a lightweight design.”
Though seeing someone so young and talented create something genuinely useful doesn’t make me feel great about what I was doing during my time in higher education, I’m glad there are people like Till putting their big brains to use. Maybe the kids are alright. To be clear, the “TOoLCAR” prototype isn’t an official collaboration or product from MONoPOLE and there is no clear idea as to whether a production run will ever take place. MONoPOLE didn’t have any official comment about the possibility of a production run of the TOoLCAR, but I think I speak for all of us when I say this is something we’d like to see.
If you’re interested in a more detailed look at the MONoPOLE No 01 cargo bike, our very own Lucas has one in for review, as photographed just above. Be on the lookout for his thoughts and insights on the base model later this spring.
For more on MONoPOLE, visit Monopole.cc.
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