Bicycles

Wooden bike is mass-produced to order

Wooden bike is mass-produced to order
The My Esel Cross bike, on display at ISPO 2018
The My Esel Cross bike, on display at ISPO 2018 
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My Esel at ISPO 2018
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My Esel at ISPO 2018
My Esel took home a BrandNew Award at this year's ISPO show
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My Esel took home a BrandNew Award at this year's ISPO show
My Esel electric bike
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My Esel electric bike
My Esel's ultralight prototype show bike
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My Esel's ultralight prototype show bike
They wouldn't tell us the weight of this lightweight prototype because it was part of a "guess the weight" promotion – they did say our guess of 9 kg (20 lb) was in the ballpark
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They wouldn't tell us the weight of this lightweight prototype because it was part of a "guess the weight" promotion – they did say our guess of 9 kg (20 lb) was in the ballpark
The entry-level My Esel Basic
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The entry-level My Esel Basic
The My Esel e-bike
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The My Esel e-bike
The My Esel Cross bike, on display at ISPO 2018
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The My Esel Cross bike, on display at ISPO 2018 
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Back when Austrian entrepreneur Christoph Frandorfer was an architecture student, he developed knee and back problems from riding a bicycle that didn't fit. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to get a bike custom-made for his measurements. That's where he first got the idea for My Esel, which is billed as "the world's first mass-produced custom bike."

My Esel clients start by entering a variety of body-part measurements, using an online configurator on the company website. They also select the bike style, frame color and components package that they want.

From there, an algorithm crunches the numbers and determines the best frame geometry for them. The bike's wooden frame is then cut and assembled accordingly, with a guarantee that the bike will deliver perfect power transmission and an orthopedically perfect sitting position.

My Esel took home a BrandNew Award at this year's ISPO show
My Esel took home a BrandNew Award at this year's ISPO show

The choice of wood as a frame material not only makes customization easier, but it also offers a distinctive look, and it remains rigid while also minimizing vibrations. Additionally, thanks to a four-layer surface sealing process, the My Esel frames are claimed to be weatherproof. The weight of a complete bike sits between 9.4 and 13.5 kg (20.7 and 29.7 lb), depending on the setup.

Pricing information isn't available at this time, although My Esel bikes are claimed to be more affordable than hand-built-to-order traditional models. Oh, and in case you're wondering, "esel" is german for "donkey" or "ass."

Source: My Esel

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1 comment
1 comment
Bob
I remember when my cyclist coworkers would spend thousands of dollars for ultralight bicycles. I found an article for a heavy bike with a concrete frame. I then tried to get them to buy one if they were serious about exercise. Of course they scoffed at the idea but I always countered that REAL athletes increased weight and resistance when training. I never thought they liked to do anything but follow each other around with their heads down sniffing the guy in front of them. The skin tight spandex didn't help the image. Just kidding. I'll stick with barbells and full length mirrors in the weight room.