Five Finalists Selected for Hubway’s Bike Design Competition

Now it's up to the public to decide the winner.

By Steve Annear· 8/25/2014, 2:57 p.m.

And then there were five.

In mid-July, Hubway turned to riders for a special project, asking those who frequent the system to help them design a new “unicorn” bike—that’s a rare, one-of-a-kind bicycle like the one with former Mayor Tom Menino’s name on it—to slip into their fleet of 1,300 rides.

The theme of the competition, called the “Hubway Everyday Bike Design Contest,” was simple, yet locally inspired, with just one major guideline: contestants had to include the hashtag #HubwayEveryday in their design concept.

After receiving 20 entries for the competition, a panel of experts from the bike-sharing company’s various communities filtered the finalists down to just five top choices, leaving it up to the public to select the grand-prize winner.

In an email sent out Monday afternoon, Hubway representatives shared the five final designs that made it to through the end of the competition. They include a bike with an MBTA map and logo etched on the side; a bike with a layout of the Charles River and Emerald Necklace, a popular biking spot; a bike bursting with bright blue hues, featuring a spinning water wheel; a basic green bike with key points where Hubway bikes are located, and one with an argyle pattern made of patriotic symbols and red, white, and blue.

To pick which bike should become part of Hubway’s lineup, users can vote online through Tuesday, September 9, just before midnight. But choose wisely, because you can only vote once.

Not only will the winner have their design featured on one of the bikes traveling between the four cities and towns that have Hubway docking stations, they will also have the honor of their name —or Twitter handle—appearing on the bike, putting them in the ranks with Menino.

Here are the finalists: