This has one advantage over the current welded frames: since the glue makes the joints actually stronger than weaker, you can achieve the same stability with less material.

Reynolds 853

As far as I’m concerned, the basic design wasn’t completed until 1992, when Shimano introduced the brifter. Hyperglide (another Shimano innovation everyone had to copy) is pretty important too (allowing indexed gears to work well, paving the way for brifters), and only dates back to the mid 80s.

As for marketing dictating the constraints, yes and no. The modern narrow chains (9+ speed) are pretty silly, but just about every other recent change to industry standards has had a quite solid basis in engineering, and often doesn’t necessarily cost any more.

I tell you what works for a human-powered vehicle – efficiency. Using tech trapped in amber for a century doesn’t help with that.

Simplicity and durability isn’t mutually exclusive with modernity, and I don’t buy the argument that only the simplest bikes will do for the third world anyway. Give em 24 speed hybrids and they’ll be bloody stoked; 1 in 30 people anywhere in the world is easily smart enough to figure out exactly how it all works, and to kludge a fix without proper parts.

They aren’t bikes, merely bike-shaped objects.

I still can like the story, the effort and the… well… very original “in the box” thinking of that man without entertaining much hope that his design will dominate the World.

TL;DR: Meh.

this $9 figure is specious as hell.

I am very interested in how the results of this stunt will find their way into other developments, e.g. 3D-printing bikes or a new way to create carbon-fiber-frames.

The same asian firm that makes $125.00 bikes for Sears or Toys-r-us will pump out lesser bikes for Wal-mart in larger numbers. It’s how they roll. (Wal-mart, not the bike)

Another problem with those bikes is the aforementioned features. 18 speeds, dual disc-brakes, suspension front and back, or any of these features alone and you have a suspect product. Most of the “mountain bikes” of this retail level come with specific warning to NOT ride the bike except on paved level ground. Many of the aforementioned features cannot be repaired or replaced on said bikes. Even Wal-mart bikes with these features, that actually work and keep working, range between $250-$450. You can also buy real bikes at Wal-mart, but not at “Wal-mart” prices as people think for bicycles

It is possible to produce a lasting bike for a mass market for everyday use, these bikes just don’t resemble the fake racers that are the predominant product of the market you are defending. 

The cardboard bike, no one said it would last longer than a junker from a box store, can’t see where you got that, but if is a single-speed, belt drive, coaster brake bicycle I think it is it will outlast any non-single speed, super-featured fake racer that gets chumped onto so many US customers who want a single speed bicycle to ride but feel compelled to buy a “hi performance” piece of trash, for the very reason you gave, but for far too little investment research, at a shitty box store.

Before you answer, I’ll tell you that I had a bike of similar mass-retail made-in-Asia origins and price and it served me well for three years, including 100 mile bike rides.   Then it got stolen.  Someone is probably still riding it today.

The “$9 cardboard Bicycle” headline gets attention because people have fallen for marketing hype that has made them think a “real” bike must cost $1000, much as they think “running shoes” must cost $200.  They don’t.

We love stories that make us thing some rad, out-of-the-box guy has found a way to bring elite modern tech to the third world masses but bike technology matured about 100 years ago.  Everything since then has been tiny nibbles around the edges of its basic operation.

The third world has had affordable bikes for a long time because they were smart enough to go with what works, not with what is advertised.

Eliminates rings & cranks, sort of.

huge cylindrical BB buildout provides bountiful support for the base of your a-frame and torques, 

allows comparatively short, stubby cranks of the favoured material, 

belt drive can run dry, eliminating risk of caustic fluids on favoured material,

a belt drive with coaster brake (or “fixed” … I guess… would feel weird) would mean that the front brake is there for speed adjustment rather than stopping, so light use only front brake.

Or it’s a standard drivetrain cheap stamped in China and covered up for that reason, but probably not I hope.

I wonder if he sticks to the almost race geometry for a reason mechanical, or a reason like marketability, since it looks like a fixie as he has it now. Since it is clearly not a fast bike, I feel it must be fashion, because when performance is not the goal the race geometry has some drawbacks.