Curved frames for share-a-bike distribution points

Eye-catchers of Dutch railway stations

Travelling by public transport not only contributes to sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility. It is also becoming increasingly easy to get from A to B by public transport. More and more people are therefore opting for the train. To then get from the station to the final destination, Dutch Railways offers a solution; the OV-fiets (share-a-bike).

The NS invests in these bikes and will build 170 renewed OV-fiets distribution points in the coming years. These are easily recognisable by the striking blue-and-yellow coloured tube frame. This way, travellers can see at a glance where they need to be and can quickly and easily rent or return an OV-fiets everywhere in the same way.

Curved aluminium frame

Kersten was commissioned to produce the curved parts of the coloured frames. For this, extrusion profiles in a radius (internal) of 245 and 285mm were bent over the strong X axis. Due to the small radius, mandrel bending technology was chosen. Once the right radius was achieved, the profiles were heat-treated and the material was brought from hardness state T4 to T6 in special ageing furnaces.

Curious about the result? The first OV-fiets distribution points have already been put into operation and are in Deurne, Geldrop and Heeze. The remaining stations will be fitted with new issue points in the coming months.