Believe it or not, inventor Izhar Gafni’s cardboard bicycle can handle the outdoor elements and hold a person up to 435 lbs. And on top of that, it looks really cool. The Israeli’s recycled cardboard bicycle took three years to perfect with engineers all along the way telling him that it couldn’t be done. Inspired by the story of an inventor who had successfully built a canoe from recycled cardboard, Gafni, a bike enthusiast, became determined to do the same for a bicycle.
Izhar Gafni's carboard bike from [ERB</div></p>
The prototype requires only $9 worth of materials and will likely retail for somewhere between $60-90. At this price point, Gafni aims to make bicycles accessible to people who previously could not afford them. According to his friend Giora Kariv, an Israeli artist who made a documentary about Gafni’s invention, “Like Henry Ford who made the car available to anybody, this bike is going to be cheap and available to any child in the world, including children in Africa who walk dozens of miles to school everyday.”
Izhar cardboard bike project from Giora Kariv on Vimeo.
Gafni hopes that his bicycle will to go into mass production this year with the help of investors. The plan is to sell the innovative bicycles on the world market.
At Sustainable America, our quest is simple, reduce America’s dependence on oil. We are especially overdependent on oil for transportation and in our food systems. Bicycling is an important way that any one individual can personally contribute to reducing oil usage while also improving their health and vitality. Gafni’s well priced and recycled bicycles make the switch to pedal power even more accessible.
For more information on some of the great bike sharing programs springing up around the country check our our previous post on New York’s Communal Bikes.
