Plastic bicycle from Igus goes into series production

Igus relies on its lubrication-free, rust-free and recyclable high-performance plastics for moving parts. The company's long-term goal is to establish local production at landfills around the world and thus close the plastics cycle.

2022 Launch with concept

After 3.5 years of development, the dream of Frank Blase, Managing Director of Igus, of an urban bike made largely from plastic waste has become a reality and is going into series production. "With the igus:bike, we presented a concept and an idea in 2022. Now, two years later, we have a production-ready product that we manufacture ourselves," says Frank Blase. "We are delighted to be able to fulfill the first 1,200 pre-orders."

With the start of series production, the bike gets a new name in addition to optimizations: the igus:bike becomes RCYL. "We at Igus pronounce it in English as R(e)CYL (German: Rißeil). The new name RCYL primarily stands for the recycled content and the sustainability concept in the bicycle. After all, it consists of 50 percent old fishing nets and is the world's first bicycle made from recycled plastic," says Blase. "The igus:bike will remain an ongoing development project. When you see an igus:bike on the road, you know that something completely new is being tried out here."

Series production: 5,000 bikes by June 2025, 10,000 in 2026

Igus celebrated the start of series production at CyclingWorld Europe in Düsseldorf in mid-March. "Visitors to the trade fair were literally queuing up to take a test ride. Both the improved handling and the futuristic design were praised," explains Sven Terhardt, Head of Sales and Marketing RCYL. The RCYL bike will soon be available for 1,200 euros.

By setting up its own production facility, Igus aims to produce 5,000 bikes for the next season. By 2026, the target is 10,000 units. To achieve this, Igus is investing in the development and construction of its own roto-molding systems. The Dutch start-up MTRL is also supporting the work of Igus engineers with its expertise. The aim is to achieve cost-effective series production for wheels and frames.

Vision of the future: bicycle production at garbage dumps

In future, Igus does not just want to provide mobility in cities in Europe and the USA. "We also want to set up local production facilities for the RCYL Bike in countries where a lot of waste is generated. The aim is to transfer the waste directly into a new cycle without any detours. We not only want to close the plastic cycle, but also create jobs and mobility in Africa and South America," explains Terhardt. Igus is also working intensively on the RCYL series itself, including an e-bike version.

Another of the company's plans for the future is to offer everything that goes into series production at RCYL to the entire industry as purchased parts. "It's like a product platform. As we produce all the plastic components used in RCYL bikes ourselves, manufacturers can also purchase the individual components directly from Igus," says Sven Terhardt. "The entire bike industry can work with our components, build local supply chains, become rust-free, lubrication-free and even more sustainable."