Video: Islabikes developing range of UK-manufactured sustainably-made bikes

Children’s bike brand, Islabikes, is developing a small range of bikes which it says will be much more sustainably made. Manufactured in the UK, the bikes built as part of the Imagine Project will be rented, not bought. When the child outgrows the bike, it will be returned to the factory to be refurbished.

The aim of the project is to prevent precious raw materials from going to landfill.

The firm’s website states: “We will have to make bikes that last for much longer than they do now so that we can rent them for as long as possible. The bicycles will be designed so that when they finally reach the end of their lives all raw materials can be separated and reused.”

Company founder, Isla Rowntree, says that to achieve this the firm will be looking at how bikes were made in the past and combining that with modern technology. The bikes will be utility “riding to school" bikes that will sit alongside current models.

The Imagine Project will start on a small scale so the availability of the new bikes will be very limited in the early stages. Nevertheless, the firm is looking for a ‘modest number’ of early adopters who can help them develop the idea. You can get in touch via the Imagine Project page on the Islabikes website.