JUL 02

In a world of over-packaging, why not take the packaging and make something useful of it? An industrial design student at Sheffield Hallam University in the U.K. has built a cheap, ecological transport. Ta-dah! A cardboard bike.

Phil Bridge doesn’t have a name for it yet, but if we can humbly suggest: the ReCycle.

Bridge said he designed the bike after learning that a bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England, so he decided to make a bike cheap enough that it wouldn’t matter if it got lifted (Hey, bikes thieves should go green too!) and designed the bike as eco-friendly as possible.

The prototype is made almost entirely from recyclable and recycled materials, using interchangeable mechanical parts. It costs about $30 to make. The body of the bike is environmentally-friendly and biodegradable industrial cardboard used in constructing partitional boarding. We’ve seen cardboard used in everything form Ferraris to laptops, but nothing that kept its construction so…apparent.

“It does get wet in the rain,” said Bridge. “That is a problem.”

But Bridge thinks the lightweight quality of the cardboard could actually be a benefit. A bargain bike is less susceptible to thives. Low-cost bikes at the moment are very heavy which can put potential riders off. Plus, it’d be easier to get it into a tree.

The bike can support anyone up to 168 pounds and the wheels and chains are standard for use on bikes.

Via Shu, BBC

Comments (14)

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Great Idea
written by Proud Human Supremacist, July 03, 2008

My bike isn't too expensive, but $200 is still a decent chunk of change. A cheaper bike is less likely to be stolen but no one would want to steal this. Maybe wax or plastic could be used to make it more water resistant. If these are made, maybe high-quality bikes could be made to look like them to deter thieves.

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written by http://multimedia.at.ua, July 03, 2008

super bike I bought such a b.

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Not a viable product
written by fred, July 03, 2008

What a stupid pointless thing.

What is the point of a bike which disintegrates in the rain and has a dangerous lack of torsional rigidity?

I hope the designer has a good insurance policy.

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founder
written by kevin Saladyga, July 03, 2008

the idea of a corrugated bike may not be totally practical but one has to commend the inventor on forward thinking....KUDOS

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It's a prototype
written by Lee C, July 03, 2008

In response to :

Not a viable product
written by fred , July 03, 2008

It's a prototype.. Most initial prototypes aren't viable in cost or function but they prove the idea.

This concept is here to prove a point of what can be done with a little bit of thought. After all Good Year wouldn't be looking at Potato starch tyres if it wasn't for some university students.

Tops marks for a good start lads.. Nice to see the UK isn't suffering the brain drain we are told.

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Does not melt in rain
written by Clinch, July 03, 2008

Rain IS NOT a problem

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7457220.stm
0:50
“It does get wet in the rain, but that isn't a problem.”

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Rain
written by Proud Human Supremacist, July 03, 2008

The only rain that's a problem is everyone raining on parades.

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£ound symbol
written by Christopher Reeve, July 03, 2008

The symbol for British pounds is £. Copy and paste it is you don't know how to type it on a US keyboard. Here are some more if you lose that one. £££££££££££££££££££££££££££
£££££££££££££££££££££££

;)

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Pounds
written by Clinch, July 03, 2008

The only place in the post that mentions pounds, is the weight of a person it can support, which is lbs, not £.

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This is a blog read mostly by Americans
written by Kaz, July 03, 2008

So why is it a problem for the blogger to write the currency in dollars? It's not like it costs £30 and he said it cost $30 insead. The bike costs £15 to built, which is aprox 30 US dollars. So shush.

I think the bike is a good idea and I wouldn't mind owning one. It's a little worrying that it's biodegradable though.

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written by Rich, July 03, 2008

A disposable bike! Yeah, that's way more green than the other kind that are reusable for decades.

What I don't get: A chainring alone costs $30. How do you get a whole cardboard bike, which includes that $30 chainring, a chain, freewheel, cog, at least one brake, two wheels, and two tires for $30 too?

(Heh, I just noticed that those are no longer cardboard wheels -- just plastic mag wheels painted cardboard-colored. Earlier pictures of the cardboard bike showed no drivetrain and one cardboards-spoked wheel.)

If he means "the frame costs $30 to make", that's probably in the same class as a Wal-Mart bike at Chinese factory rates, and this bike, with components, will be in the $200 range.

I think you've been had by a poorly-reported local-interest news story.

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written by Clinch, July 07, 2008

I don't think it's disposable (at least it doesn't say it is anywhere).

And considering the nature of this bike, it's unlikely they'll use high performance or mountain bike chains.
After a quick search online, I found several chains for less than £5 ($10), and this is retail price, manufacturing costs could be considerably less.

And looking at the prices of other key components of the bike, it seems the estimate £15 ($30) price tag is about right (and the frame will probably only cost a few pounds)

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written by Bubba, July 17, 2008

if the cardboard was sprayed with resin it would harden up and be resistant to rain!

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written by deep well pump, November 17, 2009

I think the bike is a good idea and I wouldn't mind owning one. It's a little worrying that it's biodegradable though.

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