This round-the-world-ready ‘Cercle’ bike is made for living in

The Cercle concept bike is designed by German carpenter and industrial designer Bernhard Sobotta, who was inspired by his bikepacking adventures and decided to create a bike that is ideal for multi-month trips. The result is quite an innovative design to say the least, a bike with a large circular frame that can accommodate a camp bed, or alternatively act as your dining room. 

Spawned from the simple question "is it possible to sleep on a bicycle?" in Bernhard's degree thesis, the idea came to be a project that has now seen a couple of functional prototypes traversing the world.  It's not been an easy project, and as we can see from the wooden prototype from 2016 below, the bike has come a long way. 

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Unfortunately we've been unable to get a comment from Bernhard himself, so we've done our best to figure out on our own what is going on with this bike exactly. 

Let's start with the steering system. The flat handlebars at the very top of the bike are actuating the front wheel with cables. The handlebars have rotary-style shifters that are connected to the Pinion gearbox. This German gearbox maker is known for its ever-increasing success in creating gearboxes for electric bikes, touring bikes, and also mountain bikes. The gearbox on the Cercle has 18 gears with a 636% range.

The disc brakes are also cable actuated, which means even if they're not quite as powerful as hydraulic brakes, they're easier to maintain on the road. 

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And instead of a traditional front triangle, this bike's main frame is pretty much circular in shape, hence the name. 

The middle part is where the bit designed for living is nestled. Basically, there's a camp bed that folds out, or you could use the frame as a seat with a backrest. Bernhard himself describes the bike as: "A thing that offers a seat, that lets you sleep nice and sound, that shelters from the sun and the rain; That comes with a table; And that can be moved up to 100km+ a day powered by muscle and water only. "

At the rear, you have a little rack that can take panniers. Overall, the bike does seem to be capable of holding quite a lot of cargo, including bags at the front as well. Even without any gear the bike is said to weigh 25kg on its own. Best of luck when you hit an incline, Bernhard... 

We cannot comment on how the bike rides, but based on the YouTube video below, it does seem to smoothly glide ahead. 

road.cc and off.road.cc contributor Matt Page even caught up with Bernhard's travelling buddy Liam Cornwell last month, who is currently "living beautifully on this roaming home" according to a post on the Cercle the World Instagram page. 

Unfortunately things weren't going quite so beautifully for Mr Cornwell when he encountered Matt in South Wales, as he'd hit a mechanical snag with the bike - however, Matt and fellow local riders had him on his merry way again the next morning... 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Matt Page (@mattpage24)

Would you be up for touring the world on this unique bike? Let us know in the comments, and as always, remember to check out our other Bike at Bedtime features for more interesting, strange and very cool bikes.