Giving up fuel hogging cars in favor of green transport options like bicycles has become almost fashionable nowadays. For folks who want to turn over the green leaf completely, the idea of driving around on a bicycle that has been constructed from steel is still not green enough. And for people like these, we have inventions like cardboard bikes that are green but not very practical. However, there remains yet another alternative in the form of projects like the ReCycle. The project basically uses aluminum that has been recycled from empty cans and foil wrap.
The bike also uses a number of other common materials that end up in dumps and landfills like cork that has been used to fashion grips and saddles. The project is currently raising funds on Kickstarter and its makers have already shown great initiative in giving the original design a couple of tweaks to make it more practical. One such tweak is the use of belt in place of metal chains for propulsion. At the moment, the company has three models in its range including the mBula, Mudmaste and Moshi Moshi all of which use 100 percent recycled aluminum.
Unlike the cheap and efficient cardboard bike that costs a mere $9, the ReCycle range of bikes are definitely steeply priced and cost well around $2,000. The company needs funding for at least 50 models to put the range into production though we remain a little skeptical about the number of people that would want to drive around in human-powered bikes that cost roughly the same as electric motorbikes or even homemade electric cars! For now, the company is accepting pledges only though once they begin retailing, they may also accept aluminum cans and offer discounts on the bikes as well.
