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RE:CYCLE, a bike made by coffee

Few things go together quite like riding bikes and drinking coffee. Just head to any good café on a Saturday morning and you’ll see a few bikes perched up against the wall, with café-commuters inside enjoying a brew.

Swedish bike brand Vélosophy and coffee giant Nespresso have taken this love affair to the next level by create a limited-edition bicycle made entirely of recycled aluminum Nespresso capsules – complete with a capsule-shaped bell and cup-holder basket.

Since the boom in convenient coffee capsule machines in homes and office around the world, millions of aluminium coffee capsules enter the waste stream each day. 

But millions of aluminium bikes are manufactured each year, and it takes 300 capsules to make a bike. A perfect partnership!

Jimmy Östholm, founder and CEO of Vélosophy, was intrigued by the partnership because it allowed him to design a bicycle that would represent the possibilities of a circular economy – a world where we donʼt use any new resources, but infinitely recycle the materials we already have.

While Victorian councils gear up to combat the household recycling crisis that is seeing thousands of tonnes of re-useable materials being dumped in landfill – this creative partnership highlights one of the many cool things that can come out of recycling.

With the release of the bike known as RE:CYCLE, Vélosophy has also become the first bicycle brand in the world to offer a full one-for-one promise: for every bike they sell or rent out, another is given to a schoolgirl in Africa to improve her access to education.

Drawing inspiration from both parties, the bike takes on a typical Scandinavian design, and comes in bright purple as a nod to Nespresso’s popular Arpeggio coffee.

 
 
 
 
 
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What better way for us to bring to life the potential of recycling than to partner with Nespresso and craft a bike from recycled aluminium coffee capsules?

A post shared by VÉLOSOPHY (@velosophy.cc) on

Östholm added “we created Vélosophy with a clear purpose – to have a positive impact on the world. I see in Nespresso a strong commitment to sustainability, which is why this has been the dream partnership. We are proud to have co-created a bike that takes on the future. It is beautifully designed, responsibly sourced and sustainably produced.”

Jeff Wong, Marketing & Communications Manager Nespresso Australia & Oceania added that “Vélosophy and Nespresso are like-minded brands who both develop innovative products with future generations in mind. Through our collaboration, we’re illustrating to coffee lovers the potential of recycling aluminium Nespresso capsules. We hope it inspires more recycling, to give every aluminium coffee capsule a second life.”

Best of all, aluminum is a product that can be recycled indefinitely, meaning the recycling journey can continue at the end of the bike’s life-cycle.

Mining raw aluminium from the earth, then smelting and fabricating it, is a very resource and carbon intensive process, while recycling existing aluminium only requires 5% of the original energy output.

Bike specifications

Frame: 6061 aluminium made with recycled Nespresso capsules

Saddle: Brooks Cambium

Grips: Brooks Cambium

Basket: Laminated Scandinavian wood

Brakes: Mechanical disc brakes

Gearing: Shimano Nexus 5-speed

Shifters: Shimano 5-speed twist shifters

Kickstand: Centre mounted single stand

Tyres: 42-622 (28x1.6") Continental Tour Ride

Weight: 15 kg

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