Bicycles

Sandwichbike wooden bicycle arrives flat-packed in a cardboard box

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The wood-framed Sandwichbike is purchased flat-packed in a box, and is assembled by the buyer
The Sandwichbike was first conceived in 2006 by Kingma and colleagues at Bleijh industrial design studio, as a concept
The designers inform us that in the final production version, a complete bike should weigh around 13 kilograms (28.7 lbs)
The wood-framed Sandwichbike is purchased flat-packed in a box, and is assembled by the buyer
The fork is also made of plywood
A series of aluminum “smart cylinders” connect the two plates to one another, while also serving as mounting points for things like the seat tube, headset and bottom bracket
Sandwichbikes can be pre-ordered now via the first link below, with prices starting at €799 (US$1,043)
The single-speed bike gets its name from the fact that its frame is made from two weather-coated layered plywood plates, that most of the custom-made components are sandwiched between
The Sandwichbike is made up of less than 50 components
View gallery - 8 images

Not long ago, we heard about how Dutch artist Jurgen Kuipers built a version of his Sawyer wooden-framed bicycle that could be sold flat-packed, like IKEA furniture. While that particular bike was intended as a one-off art piece, it turns out that we may soon be able to own a flat-packed wooden Dutch bike after all – the Sandwichbike, created by Amsterdam-based industrial design studio Bleijh, is now available for pre-order.

The Sandwichbike was first conceived in 2006 by a team at Bleijh as a concept. Due to the enthusiastic feedback they received, the designers set about making it commercially available. In 2011, with the help of some business partners, they founded the spin-off company The Pedalfactory to produce the bike.

Now, they’re at the point of lining up prospective buyers.

The single-speed bike gets its name from the fact that its frame is made from two weather-coated layered plywood plates, that most of the custom-made components are sandwiched between. A series of aluminum “smart cylinders” connect the two plates to one another, while also serving as mounting points for things like the seat tube, headset and bottom bracket.

The Sandwichbike is made up of less than 50 components

Buyers will receive everything (including the necessary assembly tools) by mail in a flat cardboard box, and put it all together themselves – there are less than 50 parts in the entire kit. The designers inform us that in the final production version, a complete bike should weigh around 13 kilograms (28.7 lbs).

Sandwichbikes can be pre-ordered now via the first link below, with prices starting at €799 (US$1,043). Deliveries are expected to begin in October.

The assembly process is illustrated in the following video.

Source: Sandwichbikes via Coolhunting

Update: We originally credited Ite Kingma with the design of the Sandwichbike. Ite informed us he is an engineer at Bleijh who knows a lot about the bike but isn't responsible for the initial idea. The story was updated on April 19, 2013 to reflect this.

View gallery - 8 images
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4 comments
Pipedog42
Now if the price could get down to a couple hundred (or less)... this could really help change the world.
Mark A
Plywood works wonders. I worked for a gentleman who built a submarine out of plywood donuts. He glued them together and finished it will fiberglass, depth of 200' crew of 2, 1963.
Oztechi
If I'm going to pay for a wooden assemble-it-yourself bike, the last thing i am going to do is pay a premium price.
Somebody please open-source a similar wooden bike design.
f8lee
Wait for Ikea to source them. But then again, who (other than the painfully hip porkpie-hat-wearing soul-patch-sporting non riders) would actually want to own one?