38 n TRANSPORT July/August 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com Turning fishing nets into plastic bikes After 3½ years of development, igus has started series production of a bicycle made largely of recycled plastics – including 50% recycled shing nets. The company is aiming to produce 5,000 of the lubrication-free bikes in the rst year, and 10,000 by 2026. It has ambitious plans to establish local production of the bicycles at sites around the world and, as well as making bikes itself, it is launching a new business to supply plastic parts to other bicycle manufacturers. “We presented a concept and an idea in 2022. Now, two years later, we have a product ready for series production that we manufacture ourselves,”reports igus CEO, Frank Blase, who had a dream of making an urban bike from plastic waste. He envisaged durable and maintenance-free bikes that would be corrosion-free and resistant to weather, dirt and corrosion, and could revolutionise mobility in cities and at locations such as hotels, trade shows, campsites and company premises. “We are delighted to ful l the rst 1,200 preorders,” Blase adds proudly. The €1,200 bike – previously known as the igus:bike, and now called RCYL – relies on lubrication-free, rust-free and recyclable highperformance plastics for its moving components. igus has been working on the project with a Dutch start-up, MTRL, which specialises in recyclable plastic bicycles. The green light for volume production had been planned a few months ago. However, some optimisations, to make the bike as sustainable as possible, took longer than expected. Among other things, igus wanted to increase the proportion of plastic in the bike. Some of the handful of parts that were made of metal in earlier prototypes – such as the seat post and brake lever – are now formed from plastic. In addition, the design engineers have increased the steering angle of the handlebars to make the bike easier to turn. Other new features include a freewheel using long-life xiros ball bearings that allow the wheels to run smoothly without lubrication. The bike, which weighs around 17kg, is now 92% plastic. “We believe this is a world rst for a production bicycle," says igus UK MD, Matthew Aldridge. “From the frame to the bearings, it is all plastic and largely recycled. Even the drivetrain is polymer, which was considered almost impossible in the bike industry for a long time.” igus is producing the RCYL frames using a rotary moulding process. It is also making other components including the wheels, cranks, handlebars and planetary gears. The high-performance plastic components are lightweight and corrosion-free. Owners can use high-pressure water jets to clean their bikes without having to worry about rust or washing away lubricants. The components are moulded from a granulate material which is made from The engineering plastics specialist igus has developed a bicycle, 92% of which is plastic. As well as making and selling its own bikes, igus has also established a new business that is supplying plastic components, including frames, to other bicycle manufacturers. Around 93% of igus’ RCYL bicycle is formed from plastic materials, including 50% recycled shing nets
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