Igus celebrates 60th anniversary with plastic bike odyssey

Over the next 12 months the igus:bike, the world’s first bike made using recycled plastic, will be travelling through at least 16 countries , including Germany, Italy, China, and the UK – in order to promote the circular economy of plastics.

The bike - which doesn’t rust, doesn’t need oil and is almost entirely maintenance-free - is made using using 50 per cent recycled ocean plastic from discarded fishing nets. All of the individual components – from the frame to the bearings and drive crank - are manufactured  by igus using rotational and injection moulding.

Since the start of development, the material researchers have succeeded in gradually increasing the percentage of recycled plastic– and the trend is rising. This makes it possible to process discarded fishing nets, shampoo bottles and other plastic waste into recycled pellets for rotomoulding machines, turning these into a valuable resource. The ultimate goal is to establish local production near waste plants worldwide and therefore close the plastic recycling loop.

Once it reaches the UK, expected to be summer 2025, the bike is set to travel across the country, sightseeing and highlighting customer applications along the way.  "As a company that has been manufacturing industrial components from plastic for 60 years now, we are committed to driving the transformation to a sustainable circular economy of plastics. The igus:bike is a significant milestone on this path," said Igus UK MD Matthew Aldridge.

Founded on October 15^th, 1964, by Günter Blase - igus is now a leading motion plastics manufacturer, with its products found in a huge variety of engineered systems including cars, cranes, furniture, machine tools and robots.