THE CARDBOARD BIKE - A CAPITALIST SOLUTION TO TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND BICYCLE THEFT!

 
The commuter vehicle of tomorrow?
 
Rush hour traffic congestion is a problem in major cities.  Statists try to solve this problem through coercive means such as bus lanes and congestion charges.

Bicycle theft is also a problem.  A bike is stolen every 71 seconds in the UK, the main reason probably being that they're expensive enough to be worth stealing to sell on.  Statist "solutions" to theft and crime generally include such things as CCTV cameras, ASBOs and ID cards, all of which are of questionable value at best.

What statists fail to realise is that - if left to themselves - individuals are quite able to come up with their own solutions to problems, utilising their native intelligence and the free market.  Good old capitalism, in other words.

A degree student by the name of Phil Bridge, studying at Sheffield Hallam University, has come up with what could turn out to be the neatest invention of the year - the cardboard bicycle!  The frame is made of Hexacomb board, which is form of industrial-strength cardboard with a honeycomb structure - strong enough to be used in partitions, housing and advertising hoardings.  Apparently, it's inherently waterproof too, so it won't go soggy in the rain.  Things like the tires and the chain are regular components, of course, but the bike as a whole is expected to sell for about £15.  The average commuter would save that in petrol within a week.  So it's too cheap to be worth nicking, costs nothing to run and takes up a hell of a lot less space on the road than a bus or a car.  Brilliant!  Of course, not being made of metal, the frame wouldn't last forever.  Mr Bridge reckons it would take about six months using the bike to commute before the frame gets worn out - but then the idea is that you would take it back to the shop, they take the frame, tyres, handles and whatnot off and put them on a new cardboard frame - so you recycle your cycle!

This guy's a genius!  For £15 I'd give one of these things a go, and I never learned how to ride a bike!  I always thought in the 21st Century we'd be using personal jet back packs to commute to work, but until they come onto the market (at a price I can afford) this'll do the job - cheap to buy and cheap to run.

If you want to read more, there's a transcript of a BBC Radio Sheffield interview with him here.
 
I wish him well, it's the best new business idea I've heard for ages - and it beats taxing people off the roads.
 
 
Genius!
 
 
 
 
29.6.08 18:54
 


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