A disposable bicycle???

[Joe Blake]

Instead of using WD40 to lubricate it, you might need insecticide to kill the termites.

http://www.andrewmaynard.com.au/olc.htm

Joe

[Joe Blake]

I understand IKEA is thinking of entering a team this year.

Here's their secret weapon.

http://www.andrewmaynard.com.au/olc.htm

PuppyDog

[Stellar Gellar]

is using wood more environment friendly?:unsure:

[Alfie Dring]

*Ahem*

Whoever has designed this....


1) Does not cycle
2) Does not know plywood very well....


Just look at the wheels, 6mm ply under those loads will warp within a few weeks, particularly if exposed to the elements as this one will be. Also with just a flat 6mm rim to work with what are the tyres supposed to be? Looks to me like a custom solid rubber job, meaning expensive, ecologically dubious and terrible for the bike and rider on anything other than the velodrome!

Whats going on with the steering? Looks like it would be prone to just snap off at the hinge as soon as you encounter any kind of resistance. Even just turning a sharpish corner at speed down hill will put that joint under huge strain.

I cannot imagine this genuinely coming in at $35 and being even remotely tolerable. My bike costs around 10 times the price and is, i reckon, infinitely more usefull to me. It will also last more than 10 times as long as this thing, can travel safely on a wide variety of surfaces and road conditions and will not shrivel up in the sun or snap in half if i crash it into the kerb.

To summarise, NO MORE DISPOSABLE OBJECTS PLEASE!!! :nuts:

Everything should be built the way the russians build there gear, Simple, solid and to the point, by following this philosophy objects become heirlooms and continue there usefull work for generations rather than days. Have a look on the freecycle network near you and see how many conventional bikes in working order change hands for free...

http://www.freecycle.org/

... then tell me theres any point at all in this gimmicky insult to trees! :mad:


*/rather severe rant* (sorry:embarrassedt:)

Alf

[Joe Blake]

I'd suggest that a properly designed urban bicycle (made of, yes, wood) may be a solution for some inner urban traffic problems.

An example: I'm partially disabled with some difficulty walking, but I can still ride my bicycle(s) far and wide. But to go further and wider, eg, to visit the nearer of the hideously huge hypermarket/shopping malls, I have to use my motorcycle. Such is the enormity of these areas that I am forced to sometimes ride my motorcycle around until I'm near the section I wish to visit. To have these handy little tools in the mall (they could stored in large numbers at various points) for me to be able to grab and use at need would make my trip (a) faster (b) less painful and (c) more productive, because I could spend time deciding which items I really wanted, instead buying with time in mind.

The same could be applied in the inner city if it were to be turned into a motorvehicle free zone. In conjunction with say a light electric bus/ rubber tyred tram which circled the edges, people would not need to bring their cars into the city. I'd think there could be an argument for saying that it would be desirable that the bike BE disposable/ biodegradable. This would reduce the motivation for theft, and the materials could be recycle for other uses.

I see absolutely no reason NOT to use wood in designing vehicles. As long as they are used for the purpose for which they are designed it's fine. I've got 4 bicycles, ranging from a fold-up 3 speed for local shopping (towing a trailer) , to a 10 speed mountain bike, with a plastic box on the carrier, for shopping when I don't to have time to get the trailer out of the shed, to a SWB recumbent bicycle for when I just feel the need get out on the road and feel SPEED, to my recumbent trike, which can also tote the trailer, for when I need to travel moderate distances (25 km+) and or tote something larger than the norm, eg a new vacuum cleaner. The trike has as you will probably see as you wander through the board's archives, a 200 watt electric motor which is driven by batteries charged by solar power. In 2 years I haven't taken on any fossil generated electricity.

Then, as I said for longer, faster etc, there's the motorcycle.

I agree with your comments on the design but not necessarily with all your other comments. I've been pedalling since about 1972 and I've seen great leaps forward in bicycle design, and in the end, I think the bicycle will be the closest thing this planet will have to a saviour, but not necessarily the traditional diamond framed upright. That will be there, alongside lots of other interesting toys.

I would HATE to meet one these woolly wooden wonder wheels wobbling along the cycle track in front of me, because it would slow me down, but I'll just have to grin and bear it, since I don't own the road.

Joe

[Ralph Day]

True, Russian stuff can become hierlooms...I've seen many Belarus tractors sitting in farm yards year after year. Perhaps left there to remind the husband just what a bargain is, utility and reliability...not just a low price!:smile1:

And remember the Lada? The only car worse than a Lada was a Skoda (vehicles for the masses).

Ralph

[Patrick Black]

This is great. And it gives me a chance to use up that old house paint I have lying around.

[Tom kent]

dont know if id feel safe on a wooden bike... biodegradable or not. and the wheels wouldnt they have to be made out of rubber any way?