Janez Tratar is the 28-year-old engineer behind the idea of Tratar Bikes. Slovenia is currently in a bad place with unemployment, and Janez believes this will provide a source of pride, and work, to the people of his country.
Tratar Bikes are city bicycles available in two different specifications on the same frame. The single-speed offers smooth simplistic riding with minimal maintenance, and the Kick shift features two gears and an internal brake built into the rear hub. The frame is made from top-shelf Slovenian wood with metal reinforcements at high stress points.
Tratar says “I believe that riding a bike is not just moving from point A to B – it should be an experience that every commuter deserves and can be accomplished only by the wooden bicycle.” Take a look after the break to see the details on the bikes and the information on their Kickstarter launch.
Tratar Bikes feature handcrafted and laminated wooden frame. They say the laminating procedure is similar to making monocoque carbon fiber frames, and that the care of the wooden bike is similar to how you would care for a carbon frame. Wood is not only an eco-friendly material, it is used for the comfort of a smoother ride. The material properties dampen the vibrations from the road very effectively. Metal is used in fastening places to ensure the best fittings for standard bicycle components.
Starting as a team of three people, they are working out of a cooperative resource workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia. They say their bikes have the lightest possible ecological footprint, and through their ten years of experience, they believe they have reached the optimal design for a wooden bike frame.
FROM TRATAR BIKES –
Layers of top quality veneer are carefully selected and placed in the right directions to ensure the best frame characteristics. The layers are glued with special weather resistant glue and pressed in the desired shape with large pressing tools. Building bicycle frames this way is much more demanding and expensive, so not many producers have previously done it this way. An innovative design reduces the chance of defects with only three different wooden parts. The connection surfaces are glued and tightened with bolts so double security is ensured in every situation.
Tratar Bikes bicycles were meticulously tested and they achieved all the quality standards. We implement our special two-component coating system on our bikes to protect wood from water and weather. The layer of coating also reduces the chance of the frame being scratched or damaged. Our wooden frames should be maintained the same way as carbon fibre frames.
The two bikes come in at 24lbs for the single speed and 26lbs for the kick shift bike. Frames come in at 5.5lbs. Tratar says that Kickstarter has been a great resource for Slovenian projects to gain international attention, so they are going after a $25,000 goal this month using the website. A frame is starting at $880, and the bikes range from $1,660-$1,760.
