Bicycle Mascot, with flapping wings

pinshape

Ever felt like you're stuck in the slow lane when you're riding your old bike to work while everyone else is zooming past in their fancy cars? Do your coworkers honk and jeer at you as they pass by in their sleek luxury vehicles, making you feel like a total cyclist wannabe?\nWell, buckle up, because we've got just the thing for you!\nPimp out your ride with a high-class mascot that will have everyone green with envy. Even better, a wind-powered wing system hidden behind a classic chrome grille makes it look like your bike is taking flight, leaving all those fancy car owners in the dust! The Bicycle Mascot works just like a classic toy from your childhood: a pullstring lifts the wings, which drop back down due to gravity when the string is released. To automate this process while cruising on your bike, we used a wind wheel with an off-center pin that's connected to the pullstring. The relative wind drives the wind wheel, making it periodically pull the string by about 1cm. This project requires some patience and finesse to get just right, but trust us, it'll be worth it!\nCheck out our YouTube video for a closer look at this amazing DIY bike accessory: https://youtu.be/0fXoRS-eOJk **Printing Tips** For the mascot and grille, we used 40% infill to make them strong enough to hold their shape. For the wind wheel and arms, you'll need to use support material - be careful when removing it, as parts can snap easily! The mascot body printed well without support, but using a raft is a good idea to ensure it comes out perfectly. For the rest of the parts, printing with a raft is a great option. We used three shells for most of the prints, but only 10% infill - you may need to adjust this depending on your printer's capabilities. **Assembly Instructions** Check out our instructable on Instructables.com for step-by-step instructions on how to assemble this amazing DIY bike accessory: http://www.instructables.com/id/Flapping-Bicycle-Mascot-Fully-3d-Printed/ Note that we're still working out some kinks with the wing version - they tend to get loose, so we recommend sticking with the arm version for now. **Creative Credits** We used the character creation tool "ManuelbastioniLAB" to generate our mascot design. This software is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license. We added a dress to make it safe for work! The wings were designed by Matthew Krebs - thanks for letting us use them, Matt!