I don’t like cyclists very much, I’ll be the first to tell you. But even I have to marvel at the ingenuity of this new Israeli invention. Amateur cyclist and Israeli inventor, Izhar Gafni, has created a bicycle made of cardboard – which could be the massive game changer for rural people who need to get from A to B.

The first question I had was: “What happens when it rains?” Well, this isn’t just an old fridge box and some masking tape. Gafni has been toying around with the concept for a few years now, and he finally feels that his latest prototype is ready to go into mass-production. It has been tested by immersing a cross-section of the structure in a water tank for several months, without any of the hardness or strength qualities being lost.

The process in making a cardboard bike is remarkably simple, and Gafni believes that most of the construction and assembly can be automated. A secret organic glue is applied to the cardboard, which adds rigidity, and it is then finished with lacquer. Even the brakes and the spokes of the wheels are manufactured from cardboard. This removes the need to outsource the manufacturer, as all the parts as well as the assembly takes place at one plant. The bike is expected to sell for around R175, with a cost price of less than R100.

This cheap price means that you can very easily just buy a new bike as you need it – just simply return the bike to the factory to be recycled. It also opens up bike ownership to plenty of people for who having a bike was previously unaffordable. Not to mention the opportunities for jobs – which Gafni hopes will go to pensioners and persons with disabilities, given the largely automated manufacturing process.

Speaking about the project, Gafni had the following to say:

I was always fascinated by applying unconventional technologies to materials and I did this on several occasions. But this was the culmination of a few things that came together. I worked for four years to cancel out the corrugated cardboard’s weak structural points.

Making a cardboard box is easy and it can be very strong and durable, but to make a bicycle was extremely difficult and I had to find the right way to fold the cardboard in several different directions. It took a year and a half, with lots of testing and failure until I got it right.

I’m repeatedly surprised at just how strong this material is, it is amazing. Once we are ready to go to production, the bike will have no metal parts at all.

The bike has reportedly got quite a stiff ride quality, similar to basic road bikes. Would you buy one?

[Source: The Telegraph]