The team behind this little Belo bikes startup set out to build a more sustainable kids’ bike. Pairing fast-growing bamboo frame tubes with recycled plastic lugs, they’ve created a bike they say is as close as you can get to carbon-neutral, while still being 100% functional, cool to look at, and affordable for parents faced with kids that grow like weeds. For now, the Belo bike is being offered through a Kickstarter campaign in 14″ to 20″ wheelsize. But Belo hopes to deliver their sustainable, made-in-Germany kids bikes already by the middle of next summer!
Belo bamboo kids’ bikes made from sustainable materials
“Let your little ones explore the world sustainably. Belo bikes for little eco-heroes!”
Belo’s goal was to create a better, more sustainable bike for kids. As parents themselves also faced with fast-growing kids, the Belo design team wanted to figure out how to build a high-quality bike that would get their children excited about riding. But at the same time, a bike that they could feel was more in line with the climate-positive benefits of actually riding bikes, instead of creating another disposable product.
Sustainable bamboo & recycled plastics
Bamboo as a frame material first came to mind for its rapidly renewable character, minimal processing needs, red water consumption, and net negative CO2 impact. However, building conventional bamboo bikes is still very labor intensive and requires a lot of less-friendly epoxy work. So they spent the past 3 years developing a plug-and-play lug system that uses injection-molded recycled plastic to give the bikes structure, and requires much less harmful adhesive.
Plus, the white recycled plastic lugs were specifically infused with splashes of colorful throughout to create an eye-catching look to contrast the neutral tones of the bamboo frame elements.
The result is lightweight and fun to ride. Plus, Belo builds affordable frames thanks to the simple lugged construction, even factoring in production in Germany.
“By choosing our eco-friendly kids’ bike, you’re not only providing your child with a fun and healthy activity but also supporting a more sustainable planet.”
Tech details
Belo describes the bamboo they build their frames & rigid forks from as “light as aluminum, as strong as steel, and has a high resistance to compression, bending, and torsion“. Still, the fiber-reinforced, recycled plastic lugs are overbuilt to be extra strong for how kids use & abuse bikes, while still being lightweight. The bikes are also disc brake only and feature thru-axles to work with high-quality wheels.
Beyond the eco-friendly frames, Belo bikes feature solid kid-centric components. Comfy saddles, ergonomic bar shapes, child-specific levers for easy reach, and light affordable alloy components.
- available in 3 wheelsize-specific sizes (S-L) to fit kids from around 3- to 8-years-old
- offered with 14″ and 16″ wheels as a singlespeed bike, or
- the 20″ kids bike features a 1x 10-speed drivetrain
- designed and manufactured in Dresden, Germany
Belo sustainable kids’ bikes – Kickstarter pricing, options & expected availability
Belo has just opened up a crowdfunding campaign for their sustainable bamboo and recycled plastic kids’ bikes on Kickstarter, and they still have quite a ways to go to meet their funding target. As an early backer, you could pre-order their 14″ bike for just 400€ or the 16″ bike for 500€. The 20″ 10-speed geared Belo kids’ bike is a bit more at 700€.
And there’s even an option for a limited founders addition where you can get a custom-colored Belo bike for 1000€, then in any of the wheel size options to fit your kid.
We’ve also heard they’re likely also working on a smaller balance bike version for even smaller kids, as well.
Belo’s Kickstarter runs through the middle of November. Assuming they hit their goal, Belo expects to ship their bikes out to early backers next summer, starting in May but officially by July 2025.
