An Israel inventor has created a bicycle made nearly entirely out of cardboard as well as a new model of “green” transportation production that could allow poor nations to get bicycles free.
The bicycle created by cycler and entrepreneur Izhar Gafni, 50, is made out of cardboard but is treated with an organic substance that makes it water and fire proof, and is then coated with lacquer paint. The device will have no metal parts, and even the brakes, wheels and pedal will be made from green materials.
“This is a real game-changer. It changes the way products are manufactured and shipped, it causes factories to be built everywhere instead of moving production to cheaper labour markets. Everything that we have known in the production world can change,” said Nimrod Elmish, Gafni’s business partner, according to Reuters.
The cardboard bikes would be produced on automated production lines that would be supplemented primarily by pensioners and the disabled. While the bicycles will be given away, the entrepreneurs intend to make a profit by selling ads.
“Because you get a lot of government grants, it brings down the production costs to zero, so the bicycles can be given away for free. We are copying a business model from the high-tech world where software is distributed free because it includes embedded advertising,” Elmish said.
