The polymers used to make the handlebars are developed and tested in Igus’s expanded bicycle laboratory. The products are both recyclable and partly made from recycled material. Production will start in Cologne and will then expand to Asia and North America to offer local supply chains to bike OEMs.
The new handlebar will be used on bike company Advanced's Reco Bike. The bike’s key component is the frame, so-called because it is made of plastic and is 100% recyclable. To support Advanced’s low carbon approach, the bike now also uses a handlebar developed by Igus. It is manufactured from high-performance polymers in a special manufacturing process, and its strength and stability is equivalent to an aluminium handlebar, but its production requires less energy and takes place locally at Igus in Cologne. The handlebars are also 100% recyclable.
Thanks to injection moulding, it is made of a single piece, with no seams.
Matthew Aldridge, managing director at Igus UK, says: "We have developed this manufacturing process for such bent parts with high stability and cavities from scratch. As a result, we are free to choose plastics, we can choose different colours and even create holes for cables on the inside.”
Resource conservation is becoming increasingly important in bicycle design and manufacture. The transport, energy-intensive production and subsequent disposal of bicycles and components accounts for a substantial quantity of carbon dioxide.
"We see plastics technology as a new option for the industry, with all components in one wheel in the future,” Aldridge continues. “Carbon reduction, recyclability, durability, and local supply chains are increasingly demanded by our customers. At Eurobike in Frankfurt, we have been showing some imaginative solutions that work".
For new off-the-shelf products for bicycle manufacturers, Igus will present ball bearings, cranks, steering head bearings, and a freewheel made of high-performance plastics specially developed for movement. Frames, wheels and handlebars will be available soon. The seatpost and saddle frame are also already in the works.
BOX: Igus:bike
The development of the mostly-plastic Igus:bike, which was launched at Messe 20222, is progressing well in cooperation with co-developer Mtrl from the Netherlands. The ambition is an all-plastic bike, with a frame and wheels made from post-consumer waste such as shampoo bottles and fishing nets, recovered from the oceans. All wear resistant parts of the bicycle are made of the durable tribo-polymers from Igus. The goal is a rust-free, lubrication-free and maintenance-free wheel that can be completely recycled. Igus describes the project as a "live test laboratory for the bicycle industry".
The first bikes are scheduled to be launched in Cologne at the beginning of September 2023. "Everything we learn and successfully implement for the Igus:bike, we make available to bike OEMs as catalogue products or custom-made products," Aldridge adds.
Part of this project is the Igus:bike platform, an online forum that encourages further partnerships, ideas and knowledge exchange. The aim of Igus’s platform is to promote know-how about plastics in the bicycle industry and to further develop the concept together with many other manufacturers in order to promote the circular economy for plastics – in bikes and other products – worldwide.
