Smart Molding International 1-2025

22 smart_molding international 1/2025 molding technologies igus:bike world tour: plastic bicycle braves the elements Lubrication-free and low-maintenance bicycle made from recycled plastic has already covered 365 km through Germany. O n the occasion of igus’s 60th an - niversary, the igus:bike has now been travelling across Germany for 37 days and has visited numerous customers, projects and sights along the way. From the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to the iMSPO shore power sys - temat Hamburg harbour and passenger boarding bridges at Frankfurt airport to Neuschwanstein Castle in the foothills of the Alps. The bicycle made of recycled plastic is intended to sensitise people to the topic of the “circular economy of plastics” and show how robust and durable igus motion plastics are – both in the igus:bike and in various customer applications. The first stages of the world tour have been completed. The bike made from recycled plastic has already travelled 365km across Germany since it started. Both passers-by and igus customers were amazed when they saw the orange, futuristic-looking vehicle for the first time. However, the urban bike is not only intended to impress with its design. It is the first bike suitable for series production that is made from recycled plastic – for example from discarded fishing nets that have been drifting through the oceans worldwide for hundreds of years, contributing to plastic pollution. The project thus shows how plastic waste can become a valuable resource for urban mobility, helping combat the global flood of plastic. From Germany through other countries The world tour kicked off on 15th October in the new igus factory building in Cologne. Since then, the igus:bike team has been travelling through Germany to introduce industry partners, consumers and media representatives to a new form of mobility that is fun and also protects the environment. Right at the start of the world tour, for example, the bike stopped at the RheinKrake. This Cologne-based association has installed a floating rubbish trap in the Rhine near As part of the igus:bike world tour, the plastic bicycle has already visited numerous igus customers, projects and sights throughout Germany – from the Brandenburg Gate to passenger boarding bridges at Frankfurt Airport (all photos: igus GmbH)