Cardboard bicycle can change the world, says Israeli inventor

Reuters ^ | Oct 15, 2012 | Ori Lewis and Lianne Gross

[posterchild]

A bicycle made almost entirely of cardboard has the potential to change transportation habits from the world's most congested cities to the poorest reaches of Africa, its Israeli inventor says.

Izhar Gafni, 50, is an expert in designing automated mass-production lines. He is an amateur cycling enthusiast who for years toyed with an idea of making a bicycle from cardboard.

He told Reuters during a recent demonstration that after much trial and error, his latest prototype has now proven itself and mass production will begin in a few months.

[Melas]

I dunno about that. My primary mountain bike is aluminum. It’s $2,000 for the frame alone. Aluminum is vastly underrated in today’s carbon world. The axiom still holds true through: Even with aluminum, you can have any two of strong, light and cheap.

[discostu]

You can always find an expensive version, but my point holds. Basic cheap aluminum tubing is strong enough and light enough for most basic biking needs in poor countries. You CAN have all three, just not to extremes. The center of the triangle exists.

[knarf]

I once built a cardboard toboggan ... it lasted about 4 hours, but ...

It lasted abouty 4 hours !!

I was impressed

[knarf]

Here's the vid

[CharlesWayneCT]

I guess that is cheap enough, although you can get a real bike for under $100, and so long as you don’t leave it out in the weather, it will last essentially forever.

[Docbarleypop]

my D’Adachi Steel Pinarello road bike wasnt cheep, but its very light and strong, the weight of most aluminium but with more flex giving it a very smooth ride, its over 10 years old now but still a great ride! now for alternatives to metal, a buddy of mine makes bamboo bikes, no welds, uses twin and resin, he rides them all year round even in Minnesota winters, he does use metal forks and hubs

[grundle]

If this guy is telling the truth, then he is a hero for the environment and for the poor. This is just another example of how the world's supply if resources is getting bigger, not smaller. For more examples, see: http://danfromsquirrelhill.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/the-worlds-supply-of-resources-is-getting-bigger-not-smaller/