ELIGE MADERA Bicycles: Could They Be a More Sustainable Means of Transportation? The Astan Bike is the result of engineers and designers searching for increasingly sustainable production processes. The Astan Bike is the result of engineers and designers searching for increasingly sustainable production processes. It's often said that bicycling should be the preferred means of transportation to reduce our carbon footprint, and, of course, that's true! However, as with any production process, the manufacturing also has an impact on the planet. With this in mind, Brazilian designers Guilherme Pella and Nicolas Rutzen joined forces to create the Astan Bike, a bicycle made from natural fibers. The production is 95% more sustainable compared to bicycles made of aluminum or carbon fiber, according to an article published in www.maderas21.cl. The natural fibers that make up the parts of the bicycle are contoured with laser cutting technology and glued with vegetable resin. Pella and Rutzen’s engineering makes the Astan Bike tougher and capable of absorbing impacts and vibrations better than typical bicycles. This is possible thanks to the patented development of the lattice structural pattern, which follows the grain of the wood used in each of its components. For the design, the creators chose to highlight the origin of the raw material, referencing tree roots in the structure. The biomimetic design also emulates the wings of a butterfly in the center of the frame and human lungs towards the back of the bicycle.