[sauprankul]

Cardboard bicycle can change the world, says Israeli inventor - Yahoo! News
When I saw this I was confused because cardboard is known to be rigid, but VERY weak when kinked.

But, it looks like this guy has done the impossible and made a functional bike out of $9 worth of materials, all of which are highly recyclable. He says that cardboard will replace metal in time. It would be nice to have a disposable MTB frame... Don't you think? Just go for a few rides, and recycle the frame! Scavenge the components and put 'em on your next frame.

What are your opinions about this new material for bikes? Will this just come and go and not leave a mark in history? Or will it change biking forever?

I think it'll be like CF. Now it's in its larval stage, still developing. But soon, it might surpass conventional materials, at least, in some areas.

 

[GelatiCruiser]

There's a thread about this already right here. It's an interesting idea. Longevity/wear could be a deal breaker for a lot of people...but for ~$20, I'd check one out.

 

[sauprankul]

Dang... OK, looks like someone beat me to it... This thread is dead not 10 minutes after it's born... :sigh:...

 

[GelatiCruiser]

Maybe a mod can just merge it with the other one.

 

[2muchmetal]

I'd give it a shot for the price. I'm hard on my equipment though I don't know how it would last under me.

 

[Dan GSR]

until it rains

 

[john94123]

looks flexy

 

[sauprankul]

until it rains

Nope. Special, secret coating makes it waterproof and fireproof.

 

[Eyetattoo]

I wouldn't trust it out on a rocky trail....

 

[sauprankul]

looks flexy

And also rigid.

 

[SV11]

Cardboard bikes: Bikes of the future?
I think you're getting a bit carried away, it's a great concept though. I remember something like this surfaced about a yr or two ago...maybe more, but there is no way the bikes in the future will be made out of cardboard.
TRANSPORTATION TUESDAY: The Cardboard Bike | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

 

[sauprankul]

Maybe. You haven't provided a reason, but here's one that I realized recently. Cardboard bikes are like pieces of art. You can mass produce sheets of cardboard w/ the stuff we have today, but not bikes. There would be a lot of labor involved in making these bikes because of this, and the price of labor would make it way more expensive than the cost of materials. Point defeated.

Until or unless the inventor finds/develops an efficient or cost-effective way to mass-produce these bikes, we won't be seeing these on the road. But I still think that if the bike does everything the inventor says it can, then there is definitely potential.

 

[SV11]

You seem to have a personal attachment to cardboard bikes, I'm sorry but I just don't see it taking off.
Like I said in my previous post, It's been done before, 4 yrs ago (after a quick check) so if cardboard bikes were going to take off, it would of taken off back then.
Art? yeah I don't think so.

 

[sauprankul]

Look above. The problem isn't necessarily with the material, but with the way it has to be produced. You can't exactly have machines fold and crease cardboard in a standard factory yet. There would need to be specialized equipment in order to be able to create these bikes by robot.

 

[Emton]

I don't like it

 

[SV11]

There would need to be specialized equipment in order to be able to create these bikes by robot.

That statement defeats the purpose of a $20 bike.

 

[sauprankul]

There would be a lot of labor involved in making these bikes because of this, and the price of labor would make it way more expensive than the cost of materials. Point defeated.

I already said that. ^^^

 

[AZ]

Look above. The problem isn't necessarily with the material, but with the way it has to be produced. You can't exactly have machines fold and crease cardboard in a standard factory yet. There would need to be specialized equipment in order to be able to create these bikes by robot.

That statement defeats the purpose of a $20 bike.

Economy of scale. How many millions or tens of millions of these could be sold and distributed around the globe? The shear scale of production would make the technology not only feasible but a requirement for successfully producing these.