science

Plastic bicycle

Plastic bicycle is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Plastic bicycle rather than just read about it. In short: A plastic bicycle is a bicycle constructed from plastic or a plastic composite material, rather than from metal. In the 1970s and early 1980s, experimental plastic bicycles were developed and the Itera was produced in significant numbers, but they failed commercially.

Key takeaways

Plastic bicycle belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Plastic bicycle to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Plastic bicycle from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A plastic bicycle is a bicycle constructed from plastic or a plastic composite material, rather than from metal. In the 1970s and early 1980s, experimental plastic bicycles were developed and the Itera was produced in significant numbers, but they failed commercially. In the 21st century, developments in the technology have made reinforced plastic composites, especially carbon fibre, widely used for high-end racing bicycles.

History

Early moulded bicycles Popular Science featured ads in 1973 from "The Original Plastic Bike Inc", with plans to make the bicycle - including the chain and hubs, possibly excluding the spokes - entirely from injection-molded Lexan. The company was founded on December 15, 1971 by John P. Marzullo, Roger Stark, and William Thompson, based on ideas by Joseph Dorrity and Charles Cadorette. It is unknown whether the company sold a single bicycle, but some prototypes were made. The claim was that it would weigh less than 17 pounds, but would be stronger than steel.

Itera In December 1977, Volvo in Gothenburg wanted to produce minicars and investigated conditions and designs. In January 1978, it proposed plastic composite materials in many parts of the car. Other products were considered, the bicycle one of them. In October 1978, a grant of SEK 54,000 from the Swedish National Board for Technical Development financed a prototype plastic bicycle. In February 1980, a rideable bicycle was demonstrated to the state-owned bank and a loan of SEK 6 million granted. In March 1980, Itera Development Center AB was born to design, produce and market the Swedish Itera Plastic Bicycle, made from injection moulded plastic composite materials. But production ended in technical and commercial failure after three years. In September 1981, the first Itera bicycles were shown to retailers and the press. Nationwide advertising was scheduled for spring 1982. The bikes were delivered unassembled with tools provided in the box. In autumn 1981, more than 100,000 Swedes indicated they were interested. In February 1982, production started in Vilhelmina. Sales were slow and the news media lost interest. The fact that not every box contained every part to assemble a bicycle frustrated many customers. The following year was worse. Boxes of bicycles piled up in shops. Among them were returns, mostly with broken parts. Where metal bends, plastic breaks. Getting replacements was not simple as the parts were incompatible with other bikes. Attempts to save the project were unsuccessful. In 1983, 1,000 Itera bicycles were purchased for a national five-day orienteering contest. They were rented to participants who were invited to buy them after the contest. All were sold. It showed there was a market but it was too late. Campaigns such as lower prices failed. Production ended in 1985. Approximately 30,000 Itera bicycles were produced. The stock was sold to the Caribbean region where they became popular as rust is a problem with metal bicycles.

Injection Moulded plastic bikes The FRII Injection molding recycled plastic bicycles is a rather new design, from 2011. It is to be made entirely from injection-molded recycled plastic. The chair set can be pulled out and replaced to adjust to the height of the rider. It is to be produced by local industries for economy and ecological reasons, as its manufacture process is simple and low cost in large quantities. Designer: Dror Peleg, a graduate of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem.

3D printed bicycles The EADS Airbike is a bicycle constructed from laser-formed nylon powder. Made in 2011, it was the first 3D printed bicycle.

Fibre Reinforced Plastic Bicycles In the 21st century, with advances in carbon and kevlar fibre reinforced plastic composites, the challenges around making successful plastic bicycles were met, and it is now they are materials of choice for high-end bicycle frames and wheels, especially for racing bicycles.

See also Plastic composite (disambiguation)

References

Further reading Jan Hult. The Itera Plastic Bicycle. Social Studies of Science, Vol. 22, No. 2, Symposium on 'Failed Innovations' (May, 1992), pp. 373–385

External links All links are in Swedish:

Photos at Cyklari Lunds universitet 13-lbs plastic bicycle

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Plastic bicycle

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Plastic bicycle claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Plastic bicycle before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Plastic bicycle ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Plastic bicycle

In research: Plastic bicycle appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Plastic bicycle in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Plastic bicycle is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cycle types, History of cycling, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Plastic bicycle outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Plastic bicycle in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Plastic bicycle means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Plastic bicycle out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Plastic bicycle in simple terms?

Why does Plastic bicycle matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Plastic bicycle?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Plastic bicycle.