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The poor man’s porteur is interesting. Something tells me that after a year or so when the fabric has ripped, finding a replacement may not be easy for a niche product though.
You can buy a “bike” from Walmart for cheap. It has wheels, pedals, handlebars, etc. but don’t expect it to be durable, roll smoothly, have replaceable parts, or take it on a ride farther than down the street. This bike looks even less capable than a Walmart bike. I can’t picture someone using it to commute, and certainly a single brake on a cardboard rim means that this is not intended for more than a walking pace if you want to stop safely. It also looks like it doesn’t use bearings, which means that it isn’t likely to have a lifespan of more than a few miles without changing out the wheels’ hubs.
Maybe he made it with $10 cash, but even cardboard has a price, especially the quadrupel thickness kind of stuff he’s using. The brake alone is likely $10 on its own. It clearly took a lot of time to make, so don’t expect a selling price of $10 on something like this either.
Again, neat project, looks like fun, but it’s hardly a bike, and isn’t $10.
I do like the bike/project, and in no way knock it…I wish I had the time to do stuff like that!…but…I suspect Izhar Gafni’s carboard bike project is presented with some key build factors omitted out. Certainly it cost significantly more than $10 (only factoring in the frameset cost)…I even would debate the carboard alone cost more than that (?). It strikes me that he is using an expoxy coating over the carboard, possibly even epoxy infusion for additional robustness, and weatherproofing. @Andy…I suspect he uses press in bearings on the hubs (and BB).
…
Long story short add up glue/epoxy, carboard, paint, fittings, etc (plus components) and you get a significantly higher dollar value…factor in build/design hours…suddenly a Colnago C59 looks relatively inexpensive