A video from Madrid-based startup Bicycled, showing bits of scrap car being turned into a bicycle, has brought about a huge surge in demand for the company’s urban bike.
The slick new footage shows pieces of a banger being put to use, including an old timing belt being turned into a drivetrain and an indicator being given a second life as a back light:
Bicycled project
Since the trailer went live a week ago it’s scored more than 85,000 hits. The company’s creative director, Francisco Cassis, told BikeRadar they've now had almost 1,000 online reservations, despite the bike still being at the prototype stage: “The first prototype is ready, and at this time we are working on how to improve it, because we have come across some difficulties after using it a lot.”
Cassis, who is also a creative director at advertising agency Lola Madrid, said 50 percent of the materials in the bike come from vehicle scraps but that the company are working with engineers to increase the proportion in the final design.
The video doesn’t show the origin of the frame tubing, how the wheels are produced or how fiddly bits such as the headset and BB are manufactured. But it neatly fits the trend of producing bike parts from either the scraps of conked-out cars or using expertise from the car industry for bike building.
For more information on the Bicycled project see www.bicycledbikes.com.
It’s possible to turn out bikes made entirely from car junk. In 2010, Folke Koebberling and Martin Kaltwasser deconstructed a Saab 900 and rebuilt it as two heavy-duty bikes. Watch a video of their project below:
Saab 900 being turned into two bikes
Earlier this week, BikeRadar reported on the emergence of a bike building culture from the ashes of Detroit’s auto industry. Companies such as Shinola and the Detroit Bicycle Company are producing urban bikes using expertise and machinery previously put to work in the city's car industry.