Vote for your favorite urban utility bicycle design; entries from Seattle, Portland, Chicago, SF and NYC (Update: Seattle wins)

[Update: Aug. 5, 2014 — The Seattle-based entry – Denny – won the Bike Design Project competition. Congrats to the local design and prototype team.]

July 29, 2014 – Five teams of bike designers and builders from five cities are competing to create an urban utility bicycle that a major manufacturer says will be put in production and made available in bike shops by 2015.

Seattle entry: Denny

Let the voting begin (which it did, on Monday). You only have until noon Aug. 3 to choose the winner.

The teams in the Bike Design Project represent Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Chicago and New York City. They are stacking their creations with the kind of innovations that particularly make sense to those who use bicycles for transportation.

We’re talking bicycle handlebars that double as locks, integrated lights, electronic shifters, on-board GPS, self-charging electronic hubs, retractable racks, side blinkers and more.

These are human-powered machines made to get from Point A to Point B through any road or terrain conditions. And they’re all designed to carry stuff.

The contest was created and is run by Oregon Manifest, a nonprofit that encourages bicycle designers and builders to develop and incorporate ideas that make bicycling more pleasurable. Fuji Bikes is on board to to produce the winning entry.

Here’s how to vote:

Go to the Oregon Manifest Bike Design Project voting page.

Watch a 15-second video that briefly describes each team’s entry.

After watching all the videos, you can vote. Supply an email address for confirmation, which finalizes your vote.

The bikes

The bike were announced on Monday and voting started immediately. Here are pictures of the bikes, the name of the design firm and the bike builders on each team. More information on each team in available at the Team page.

Denny, Seattle

Seattle: TEAGUE x Sizemore Bicycle – “DENNY” – a bicycle to enable travel through the very diverse and unpredictable city that is Seattle. Teague — John Mabry, Clement Gallois, Oliver Mueller, Mike Charles, and Kay Kim. Sizemore Custom Bicycles — Taylor Sizemore.

Blackline: Chicago

Chicago: MINIMAL x Method Bicycle–“BLACKLINE” –a bike for cruising during the summer months and able to contend with the rugged Windy City winters.

New York City: Merge

New York City: Pensa x Horse Cycles – “MERGE” – an urban bicycle loaded with integrated functionality at your fingertips so you can RIDE YOUR WAY.

Portland: Solid

Portland: INDUSTRY x Ti Cycles – “SOLID” – the first lifestyle connected bike that also represents the rich history of Portland cycling.

San Francisco: EVO

San Francisco: Huge Design x 4130 Cycle Works  – “EVO” –a hybrid bicycle that leverages a modular accessory platform for ultimate flexibility.