It’s brilliant. Useful. Innovative. Durable. It’s cheap. It’s made out of cardboard. And it’s a bicycle. I first saw it on IPPINKA.com, and then I read about it in Fast Company. Izhar Gafni is an inventor. A real thinker and tinkerer. He heard about a canoe made out of cardboard and it haunted him. He wondered if he could make a bike out of the same material, so he asked some top engineers he worked with for years. They all told him it was impossible. There’s no way it can be done. He decided to give it a try anyway. After several prototypes and 3 years, he designed the “Alfa”, a bike that only weighs 20 pounds, but can hold up to 485 pounds, is made completely out of recycled cardboard with a manufacturing cost of about $9 bucks. Expected retail price is $20. Think about what this might mean to people in 3rd world countries. Or how it could influence other devices. From product design, communications, government policy -- One good idea always leads to others. But you have to believe in that, of course. Izhar said that the bicycle “is in my soul”. It’s in mine too now Izhar. Thank you. Check it out:
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670753/this-9-cardboard-bike-can-support-riders-up-to-485lbs