Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Welcome to Velo’s Taipei Cycle Show coverage, where we share our favorite things we’ve found at the 2024 show. Bikes, components, accessories, and more: if we think it’s cool, you’ll see it. See the rest of our coverage here.
Are we featuring a traffic cone on Velo?
It might be the same color as a traffic cone and made from a similar thermoplastic material, but this is a whole bicycle. You can’t ride a traffic cone, but you might ride parts of this bike very soon.
This bike comes courtesy of Igus, a German company specializing in bushings, plastic ball bearings, gears, and just about anything that counts as “motion plastics.”
It uses a construction technique called rotor molding, which consists of heating a mold and pouring plastic over it to build layers.
Igus mentions that a clear advantage to construction like this is that essentially none of this prototype bike is made of metal. Stick this bike out in the rain and snow at the most humid beach you can find; this bike is essentially rust-free and ideal for folks who lock up their bikes outdoors year-round.
This prototype doesn’t use a standard chain drive system. Rather, there’s a belt drive system inside of the bike. Because it’s placed internally, Igus says the drive system doesn’t require much or any maintenance at all.
They claim the tech is already proven through their bushing use in suspension over the years as bushing manufacturers for brands like Rockshox and DT Swiss.
As it stands, this type of concept seems to work well for a bike share system, bikes that are used and abused over short spurts to get from place to place. Weight isn’t as much of a concern as is all-weather functionality, and Igus is confident it can stand the test of the daily commute.
The prototype Igus bike on display is 50 percent recycled plastic, with hopes to be at 100 percent in the medium term. Things like the saddle, seat post, and stem require a bit more work, but the company is confident they can find a suitable shape and performance.
Unfortunately, Igus does not expect to sell this plastic bike. Rather, they hope to use this as a proof of concept for other companies that durable, cost-effective components can be made of recycled plastic today, not in the future.
