SLF Motion

SLF Motion is a US-based brand of aftermarket components for several cycling disciplines; with the goal of creating products that are durable, competitive, and set the industry standard.

I worked with SLF Motion to redesign their suite of Oversized Pulley Wheel Systems and introduce the new EVO line of products. This release includes EVO Speed, EVO AERO, and EVO 1X lines that are compatible with rear derailleurs from all major manufacturers (Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo) for road, time trial, triathlon, gravel, and mountain bike use.

A major part of this project was the strategy of establishing and executing a new Visual Brand Language. This achievement allowed us to make the new suite of products instantly recognizable as SLF Motion components, and to deliver a family of parts that are consistent, unified, and convey the brand ethos across all bike categories.
Highlighted here are a few of the signature design elements I created to define this brand's unique VBL.

Sharper features, tighter radii: In order to bring the product family in line with the newest crop of rear derailleurs from all three major manufacturers, we moved away from the sweeping and flowing curves to sharper and more deliberate line segments, with more drastic changes in direction. These segments are connected with tighter tangential radii. Since they new systems are more compact and efficient from the previous generation, the product stances have also been revised with the visual goal of "looking fast while standing still".

Arcs instead of straight line segments: Most gestural lines and segments of this product family are comprised of arcs with a gentle bow to them. This adds fluidity, sophistication, and visual returns to otherwise very sharp materials and processes used to achieve the main carbon shapes.

Breaking rules with a purpose: The only deliberately flat edges are at the bottom of the carbon plates to allow it to sit flat on a surface for display, and at the top of the lower pulley support so that the branding is parallel to the ground at the faster range of gears on the cassette. These two straight lines converge as they move away from the device, alluding to it's aerodynamic properties.

Deliberate machining: We milled down carbon layers on areas where the full carbon plate thickness was not necessary to attain the desired strength and stiffness; precise CNC machining operations where also used on pulleys and all hardware parts. This process-driven approach allowed us to achieve a very unique CMF with extreme textural contrasts from the same material, and an ownable and differentiated product appearance for all new components under the EVO system.

Scalloped frontal edge: We scooped out a significant amount of material from the frontal edge of the outer cage to "slice" through the wind, and made it a signature brand element on all 3 new configurations.

The new EVO Series Systems take drivetrain performance to a new level, purpose built with the aim of helping athletes looking to reduce drivetrain friction and save watts and time during a race. The evolution of the Hyper System to the EVO Series creates the benchmark against which all other oversize pulley wheel systems will be measured.