Guy makes bicycle almost entirely out of cardboard

[Daox]

Dunno why he was so obsessed with a cardboard bike, but the end result is pretty darn cool! There is a video in the link.

Cardboard bicycle 'close to mass production': tough, green and just $20

Izhar Gafni, from Israel, spent 18 months just folding the material every-which-way in order to discover a strong enough design, and now he claims his technique is almost ready for mass production. His maintenance-free bike uses a "secret" mix of organic materials to make it waterproof and fireproof, and is then lacquered to give it a friendlier appearance. It's expected to cost a mere $20 and weigh about 20 lbs (9 kg) -- that's 65 percent lighter than an average metal ride. In fact, this bicycle doesn't use any metal parts at all -- the solid tires are made of reconstituted rubber and a car timing belt is used instead of a chain.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Daox

Dunno why he was so obsessed with a cardboard bike, but the end result is pretty darn cool!

Cost, availability and RENEWABILITY of the material. Makes sense.

[Xist]

The latest version kind of looks cool. I am glad that he improved over the early designs. Those were hideous!

[niky]

At twenty dollars, that's even cheaper than a secondhand Japanese bike.

I'd buy one!

[Xist]

Do the materials cost him $20? According to the comments, he is using honeycomb cardboard, like from HONEYCOMB BOARD| CORRUGATED PAD | CORRUGATED SHEET | CORRUGATED CARDBOARD | COROPLAST | CORRUGATED ROLL. I looked around a little and that was the best price that I saw, $18.75 for one 4'x8' sheet, with a discount for bulk orders. Amazon shows timing belts for just over a dollar and then there is the cost of paint and other chemicals, the tires, and what he charges for his time, currently three hours.

I am afraid that he would be selling them for more than that.

[Daox]

I'd really be surprised if he could make the whole thing commercially for $20. I bet the article writer just asked him how much it cost him and regurgitated that number.

[GRU]

Its probably just material cost...labour cost will need to be added to that

[Xist]

It would be an interesting DIY. He could sell plans, but people do not like paying for things that they can steal for free.

[FieroChris]

he should use copper foil tape for the electrical wires when he converts to electric !!