When we posed the question "Can we build a sustainable bike?" in BIKE 3/21 at the beginning of the year, it was unclear how the experiment would turn out. However, a number of manufacturers responded to our call and the idea of designing the most sustainable MTB possible slowly took shape. This was followed by a representative survey on how bikers view the topic of sustainability and a workshop with experts from the Cradle to Cradle NGOhow sustainability can look for the bicycle industry. Then it was time for the companies involved to implement the ideas. Together with our partners from the industry, we gradually introduced parts with the lowest possible environmental impact. Just in time for the series finale, Canyon's ready-to-ride prototype came out of the 3D printer. The exclusive frame bike PROJECT:ride green already gives an idea of what the bikes of the future could look like.
The bike PROJECT:ride green as a result of our RIDE-GREEN campaign in the video presentation.
The centrepiece - the 3D-printed frame from Canyon
The "bike PROJECT: ride green" frame was designed and developed at Canyon. It was printed by the Bremen-based company Materialise, which specialises in the contract manufacturing of 3D printed parts. Using the so-called selective laser melting method, a laser passes over a pool of aluminium powder and welds the powder precisely into hard metal. This technology gives developers absolute freedom of design, leaving room for new approaches. Our frame was produced from three parts in six hours each. Such long production times are currently not suitable for large-scale production of bikes. However, the technology is making rapid progress and, in addition to the individualisation of products, above all enables production close to the market. Two extremely important factors for the future.
The prototype from the 3D printer represents the centrepiece of our attempt to build a sustainable bike. The innovative manufacturing process enables a completely new design language. This is what developer Johannes Thumm says about his two-kilo futuristic prototype:
"We work on the evolution of bikes every day. But only rarely do we have the opportunity to rethink the mountain bike as fundamentally as we did with this project! It wasn't about new add-on parts or interfaces, but about the complete materiality and overall construction of the frame. The top priority was the recyclability and environmental compatibility of the materials and the principle of the material cycle without any loss of quality. But we went even further. In addition to the recyclability of the materials, we also wanted to reduce the amount of pure material and thus lower the frame weight. This would be a win-win situation and the customer would not only get a more sustainable product, but also a better one. We also looked for a new design option and found an unexpected number of new design possibilities. Because a sustainable, good product is naturally much better received if it also looks great!"
>> More details about the Components of the RIDE-GREEN project bike read here!
