40 n TRANSPORT July/August 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com recycled plastic waste, including shing nets which are classed as plastic ocean waste. The proportion of virgin plastic is just 50%. “We are continuing to invest in research and development to increase the recycled content to 75% as quickly as possible, and even to 100% in the future,” says Aldridge. "With this high recycled content, we are accelerating the circular economy for plastics – and transportation. This means that plastic in the world's waste stream can become an increasingly valuable resource." Instead of traditional chains, the single-gear bikes use belt drives supplied by Gates. igus is also working on an electrically powered version of the bike, but hasn’t given a timescale for this development. However, one of the rst external customers for igus’ plastic bike technologies is the German electric-bike manufacturer Advanced Bikes, which is using injection-moulded bicycle frames made from recyclable plastics for its Reco Urban trekking e-bike. In 2023, German cyclists bought more ebikes than traditional bikes for the rst time. But most of them have frames made of steel, aluminium or carbon- bre, and are produced using energy-intensive processes, only to end up in land ll at the end of their lives. To drive the transformation to a circular economy, Advanced Bikes worked with igus to develop a sustainable composite plastic frame for the Reco Urban. “Advanced’s aim was to produce an injection-moulded composite frame with 100% recyclable plastic,” recalls Jan Philipp Hollmann, head of bike components at igus. “As we have been developing and producing components such as plain bearings, rod ends, gears and spherical bearings for the bicycle industry for over 30 years, we immediately accepted the challenge of supporting Advanced with the design of the bicycle frame and taking on the development, toolmaking and production.” To ensure that the frame is strong, rigid and lightweight, igus chose a composite material in granulate form, that contains highperformance plastics and carbon bres. It has developed a multi-part injection-moulding tool to produce the corrosion-resistant 3.3kg injection-moulded frames which avoid conventional weld seams. At the end of the bicycle’s life, igus will be able to “re-granulate” the frames to re-use the material. “In future, we also want to have other recyclable bicycle components such as pannier racks, rims, handlebars and seat posts manufactured using injection moulding,”says Advanced Bikes’founder and MD, Helge von Fugler. “This is the only way to make a fully recyclable e-bike a reality.” igus has set up a dedicated 250m2 area where it tests its bicycle components. It is also using computer tomography to check the injection-moulded bicycle frames that it makes for the Reco bike for potential problems such as air pockets in the composite material. “With our bicycle components made of high-performance plastic, we are oering the bicycle industry access to a completely new technology,”says Hollmann. “In this way, we also appeal to OEM manufacturers who want to bring their own ideas into reality with us. By using plastic, developers can completely rethink design and geometry. The just-in-time production line means that igus is able to deliver quickly and customers’ storage capacities can be reduced. This makes the business more predictable and pro table as everything is produced to order.” Igus is considering setting up a dealer network to sell its bikes or opening its own stores. The company is also investigating the possibility of manufacturing and selling the plastic bikes around the world. “We want to set up local production facilities for the RCYL bike in countries where a lot of waste is generated,” says Sven Terhardt, head of sales and marketing for RCYL. “We want to feed the waste directly into a new cycle. We not only want to close the plastics cycle, but also create jobs and mobility in Africa and South America.” The company is also planning to oer its series-produced RCYL components to others in the bicycle industry. “It’s like a product platform,”Terhardt explains. “As we produce all of the plastic components used in the RCYL bike ourselves, the manufacturers can also purchase the individual components directly from igus. The entire bike industry can work with our components, build local supply chains, become rust-free, lubrication-free and even more sustainable.” igus is selling its plastic bikes for around £1,500 on the UK. n Framing the future: Helge von Fugler, founder and MD of Advanced Bikes (left) and Jan Philipp Hollmann, head of bike components at igus, with one of the 3.3kg single-piece, injection-moulded composite frames that igus is making for Advanced. Source: igus igus has embarked on series production of its plastic bike, and set up a 250m2 area dedicated to testing bicycle components
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