Bicycles made of wood: driving report My Esel

by time news


The finished donkey is a treat for the hands and eyes and is a topic of conversation on the go.
Bild: Alan Klee

Steel, aluminum and carbon form the backbone of the bicycle industry. The Austrians from My Esel show that there is another way. Their frames are made of wood.

HWood is a rather unusual and yet somehow obvious raw material for frame construction. It is natural, sustainable because it is renewable, tough depending on the species, comparatively easy to work with and ideally grows right in front of the door. The bicycle also has a natural, sustainable image, which is undoubtedly true in terms of mobility, but in the production process it cannot consistently keep up with the otherwise small ecological footprint. The production of steel, aluminum and carbon consumes a lot of energy and makes dirt. In addition, there are long supply chains from Asia, which ensure a mixed ecological balance.

This is exactly where the company My Esel, founded in 2014, puts the wooden lever. The raw material for the frames – mainly birch, poplar, ash or walnut – comes from local forests and is processed on site in Upper Austria. The inspiration of the two founders Christoph Fraundorfer and Heinz Mayrhofer comes from alpine winter sports, because even modern skis have a wooden core inside, which provides stability, flexibility and cushioning in equal measure.

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