The green bicycle challenge

alan_sherman
alan_sherman Posts: 1,157
edited May 2008 in Workshop
Bikes are a 'green' form of transport - but how green are they really? Lots of plastic and non-renewable materials used in parts.

So - the challenge to the forum is to suggest parts that would enable a greener bike than perhaps we use today.

I'll start with latex tubes - latex comes from trees so can be harvested sustainably (not sure about additives in processing though!) I guess the valves would need to be re-cycled metal.

So what are your thoughts? :?:

Comments

  • robmanic1
    robmanic1 Posts: 2,150
    I've seen wooden bikes for sale
    Pictures are better than words because some words are big and hard to understand.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/34335188@N07/3336802663/
  • matt.rochfort
    matt.rochfort Posts: 147
    doesn't johan museeuw make a range of flax fibre bikes instead of carbon?
  • TheGreatGatsby
    TheGreatGatsby Posts: 818
    theres a bamboo bike thats about.

    Gats
  • Not Another Hill
    Not Another Hill Posts: 382
    My MTb is an 'Orange'
  • cacbyname
    cacbyname Posts: 285
    Calculating the relative environmental impact of different materials is a lot more complicated than deciding one is more ecofriendly simply because it comes from a renewable source. You can't conclude that something is more sustainable without doing a full life cycle assessment.
  • Blonde
    Blonde Posts: 3,188
    I agree - wooden bikes are not particularly 'green' unless the wood they are made from if from a sustainably managed forest grow specifically for making the bikes with, rather than cutting down existing forests. Loved one reckons bamboo best as it's easy to replace / grows like a weed and could therefore sustain a large bamboo bike market. However, can bamboo be grown in the uK? If not then the carbon footprint of the shipping form over seas would have to be taken into account along with the carbon footprint of the manufacturing process. What about simply re-using old bikes (ie the second hand market) and re-using old parts on newer frames. This is more 'green' than buying new, although it could be argued that since they are being manufactured anyway you may as well buy them.
  • alan_sherman
    alan_sherman Posts: 1,157
    Bamboo can be grown in the UK so would be good for frame tubes. not sure about the lugging methods though - although glue from boiled horse is probably fairly renewable......

    drivechain seems to be an issue from a new materials perspective - recycled aluminium or steel are the obvious chioces I guess unless anyone has any other suggestions?

    Saddle - leather is very renewable.


    Tyres? Latex rubber plus cotton plies and recycled steel bead? Anything better? Is a folding tyre possible?
  • Peyote
    Peyote Posts: 2,189
    alan sherman wrote:

    drivechain seems to be an issue from a new materials perspective - recycled aluminium or steel are the obvious chioces I guess unless anyone has any other suggestions?

    I believe Orange made a prototype MTB with a belt drive, rather than chain, if the belt could be made from rubber, possibly reinforced with hemp/flax fibres it could be an option. 'Course we'd all have to ride singlespeed or use internal hubs if gears were needed!
  • simbil1
    simbil1 Posts: 620
    The greenest practical approach is probably to buy stuff that doesn't ware out quickly and avoid disposables like CO2 cartridges.
    Other than that, what can be sourced locally in the UK - do we have any sustainable timber? Do we even make steel anymore?
    I'm guessing nearly everything will come from overseas and have a large carbon footprint - so its got to last for as long as possible to have any real 'green' credentials.
    Bambo from Asia would be about as green as biofuels from South America.

    I don't think cyclists should beat themselves up though - most make at least some journeys by bike that would otherwise be by car.
    http://picasaweb.google.com/thefirstsimbil/Bikes
  • meagain
    meagain Posts: 2,331
    "glue from boiled horse is probably fairly renewable......"

    Not from the horse's standpoint...
    d.j.
    "Cancel my subscription to the resurrection."
  • Nuggs
    Nuggs Posts: 1,804
    simbil1 wrote:
    I don't think cyclists should beat themselves up though - most make at least some journeys by bike that would otherwise be by car.
    Well you say that, but when I go out riding, I leave my 4 litre V8 idling on the driveway... :twisted:
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    simbil1 wrote:
    Do we even make steel anymore?

    Yes. I nearly did my placement this year in a steelworks.
    I like bikes...

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  • simbil1
    simbil1 Posts: 620
    RedDragon,
    Narrow escape for you there :)
    Now you mention it, I seem to remember Corus are sponsoring triathlon so I should have answered my own question. I'm guessing the coal and ore will all come from oversees though even when the steel is made in the UK.
    http://picasaweb.google.com/thefirstsimbil/Bikes
  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    Greenest bicyckle parts are surely those bought at a bike jumble or rescued from a skip - ie reuse rather than recycle.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    simbil1 wrote:
    RedDragon,
    Narrow escape for you there :)

    I don't know.....I'm from a steel working background, Dad and Grandad were both steelworkers. What I'm instead turns out to be distinctly boring (probably why I waste so much time on Bikeradar).
    I like bikes...

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  • simbil1
    simbil1 Posts: 620
    RedDragon,

    Fair enough - I think most placements are boring though for the engineers; from making aluminium cans to winding sticky tape, I haven't heard anyone who has had an interesting one. Horses for courses though ;)
    http://picasaweb.google.com/thefirstsimbil/Bikes
  • synchronicity
    synchronicity Posts: 1,415
    Excellent topic! :)
    Blonde wrote:
    If not then the carbon footprint of the shipping form over seas would have to be taken into account along with the carbon footprint of the manufacturing process. This is more 'green' than buying new, although it could be argued that since they are being manufactured anyway you may as well buy them.

    I agree with some of what you say but aren't most materials & bikes imported anyway? Given that the transport is the same, and all else being equal, surely a green material is better than a "non-green" one? Regarding the second sentence quoted above, if there was no demand, there would be no supply, so the argument about "you may as well buy them" is pretty weak in my book.

    I reckon that so long as we do something (act now) and continually strive to keep getting greener, then we'll eventually figure out the greenest way... and without all the speculation.

    Also consider that developing countries use far less energy than for example the USA, thereby reducing emissions... Although they almost certainly don't have strict environmental controls. :?

    I have started a thread on my new forum about recycling old bike parts!
    http://www.tenerife-training.net/Foro-C ... .php?t=144
    vertebr.ae | precision braking & shifting
  • DavidBelcher
    DavidBelcher Posts: 2,684
    simbil1 wrote:
    RedDragon,

    Fair enough - I think most placements are boring though for the engineers; from making aluminium cans to winding sticky tape, I haven't heard anyone who has had an interesting one. Horses for courses though ;)

    Should've gone for chemistry instead - I did a 3-month placement in a brewery for my Analytical Chemistry MSc course! No free booze or tasting sessions though :(

    David
    "It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal

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