That's awesome! Definitely won't stand up to bike-sharing programs abuse, but it's perfect for commuting. It's light, cheap, and durable AND it looks damn good. All the things that make me go "Meeee Likey!" Great job Mr. Gafni!
Juan Miguel Ruiz
GreenJoyment.com
If the weight of your bike frame is a chief concern, you can drop many thousands of dollars on a carbon fiber frame. Or you could talk to Izhar Gafni, an Isreali entrepreneur and rather obsessive tinkerer who has built a low-cost, good looking, functional and light road bike from cardboard.
We’ll let the well-produced video below tell the tale of the bike’s origin and development. But first, consider the potential here to scale up production of such steeds. Gafni figures the bike could be produced for about $12 in materials. That means the bike would retail for well under $100 — likely much closer to $50. Sure, you can walk into a Walmart today and pick up a Huffy cruiser for $90. But that weighs about 45 pounds, compared to the featherweight cardboard bike.
As Inc.com notes, this could be a boon for companies that offer bikes as amenities, such as resorts. I also think it would make for great campus bikes for large corporations or warehouses. For bike-sharing fleets, however, the cardboard might not be able to withstand the abuse that riders are sure to dish out.
Image: Giora Kariv
