There are materials that are just easy to recycle. And while plastic isn’t quite gold, as in it can be used over and over again and forged into new shapes, Israeli design student Dror Peleg has a golden idea with the Frii concept bicycle. While working for his degree at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, Peleg came up with the idea for a bicycle made of recycled plastics using injection molding technology.
The Frii is a single speed city bike that looks unique and has some very unique characteristics. While recycled materials aren’t new, Peleg’s idea is that the bike could be manufactured locally for local use, thus further making a very green product in the process. Components could be injection molded into modular shapes that snap or otherwise connect together, resulting in a strong, yet lightweight and very colorful bike.
Injection molding is already widespread in Israel and is already used to make garden furniture, tables and even storage units. But taking the concept to a bike is a big step. To construct the Frii, bearings are insterted into the mold before actual injecting, and tires are solid – or full – and injected over the rims. Thus tires are also flat proof, and are 20 inches in size, which requires a shorter fork. The bike also doesn’t feature the traditional diamond frame, as ribs are used to provide extra strength.
So far Peleg has made a 1:1 scale non-working model, so no one is actually pedaling this thing around the Old City just yet. Additionally, Peleg is so far working with current injection molding rather than opting for newer technology such as 3D printing – in part because the latter isn’t actually recycled material. We’ll be sure to watch where this one goes, because we really like the concept a lot.