wle

this dumb thing

https://www.gizmag.com/cardboard-bike...m_medium=email

anybody know?

i predicted it would never be made or sold
at least not in the usa under $300
they said $20
of all things

anyway

i am an unbeliever
show me!

i hate dumb news hoopla like this


wle

OneGoodLeg

He already has a production agreement, but it won't be in production for a few months.

There are already people riding paper bikes - https://www.paper-bicycle.com/

Retro Grouch 

If it costs $12.00 to make, There is zero chance of being able to sell it in stores for $20.00.

I still find the concept interesting. I wonder how hard it would really be to make one.

wle

ha ha
not really paper, or $20
wle

wle

he;s got about $100 worth of bike parts on it
tires
brakes
levers

"a car timing belt"
anyone ever buy one of these?
they are about $100 alone


wle

v4racer

You may be thinking of a serpentine belt - the timing belt in question is more like what you'd find on an old 6 or 8 cylinder engine, about as long as a bicycle chain. And maybe $20 in the shop.

And just because he is using one doesn't mean that it will be the default drivetrain belt if this bike goes into production - an automotive timing belt is serious overkill in this role, a much cheaper and lighter belt would be quite viable.

wle

i want to see it
it;s too much work to have faith :0
wle

MetalPedaler

Pffft.....yeah- you can't even buy a bicycle box [also cardboard] for $20!

Whatever the price would be, add another 35% or so to cover the taxes the manufacturer will pay and have to pass onto the consumer.

If he actually does manufacture the dopey things, he'd have a hard job managing to keep the price below that of a metal Walmart bike.....

I'm no physic[sic], but I see bankruptcy in that guy's future, if he's serious about really manufacturing these things, and it isn't just a publicity stunt.

Turbo231

Rule of distribution is 50%. Everyone makes 50%, so the hot wheels car that you buy at walmart for a dollar...walmart makes 50%, Mattel makes 50% and the manufacture makes 50%.

You pay a dollar, Walmart makes 50 cents, Mattel makes 25 cents, the manufacture makes 13 cents, and you own a 13 cent car.

The same rule would apply to this bike sold in stores...so start there in figuring a price. They can cut out walmart, but have to add shipping if they sell direct.

gpsblake

This might irk some people, but I'm calling BS on this so-called cardboard bike, I think it was just a clever way for someone to get their name into the news. It will never see mass production.

StephenH

I remember reading years ago where GM was doing planning to manufacture a $5,000 car for developing countries. What they found was the people that could afford a $5,000 car would rather buy a used "real" car than a new super-cheap car. You could run into that issue here also.

On a deal like this, too, you've got several "new" features, and if any one of them doesn't work right, the whole project is dead.

wle

call me ''unirked''

that is what i think too

guy is probably just writing a @#$$ing screenplay about building and selling ing a $20 cardboard bike

and how the authorities shut him down, or trek sued him, or something

wle

Ferrous Bueller

More preposterous than a news story on a $20 composite bike is the notion it would make a good thread topic half a year later.

wle

oh dear!
i bored someone
wle

gpsblake

I remember another story that gave someone their 15 minutes of fame... Remember "Bicycle City"? Yes, the concept here in rural South Carolina that someone was going to build a bicycle city. The idea was people would park their cars in a parking lot, then ride their bicycles to their house. Heck, he even had photo ops where he was starting to clear the land. People were supposed to pay him $15,000 a plot (before the cost of building) even though anyone can buy the same size of land there for $2,000-$3,000. Well, immediately the clearing the land stopped once the cameras left, and not a thing has happened on "Bicycle City" in a few years now.

MetalPedaler

I think I'll start saving my used terlit-paper tubes.... If these cardboard bikes become reality, I have a whole stash of "bicycle parts"!

wahoonc

Wondered what had happened to that. There were way too many holes in the plan when I saw it presented. Lack of connection to any form of mass transit being one of the more noticeable ones.

Aaron