Vielo is partnering with some other industry brands to do a little good. Using airplane parts from retired aircraft, the brand created upcycled cargo bikes to help flood survivors in the Valencia region of Spain. The cargo bikes are awesome, burly, and weigh only 13kg (~29lbs).
Valencia, Spain, October 2024
On October 29, 2024, the normal yearly total rainfall for Valencia fell in just eight hours. The town of Chiva, for example, received over six inches of rain in one hour. Totals for the Valencia region reached nearly 20 inches, overwhelming rivers and drainage systems. This led to devastating flash flooding throughout the region, even in areas that didn’t receive the torrential rain.
As a result of the catastrophic downpour and flooding, much of the region was utterly devastated. A thick, muddy slurry carrying bacteria covered communities. Thousands lost their homes, businesses, and much, if not all, of their possessions. Over 100,000 cars were destroyed, wedged three cars high between buildings.
But the biggest tragedy of all is the 230 people who lost their lives.
Recovery after the devastation across the area was completely overwhelming and slow-moving. With so much debris and cars blocking access, aid teams found it very difficult to access different communities.
Vielo-sponsored endurance athlete “Empty” Juan Dual began accessing hard-to-reach areas on his bike. Navigating the mud and debris, climbing over cars, Empty Juan found he could get help to those in need much sooner than on his bike. Simply, he didn’t need to wait for cleared roads.
Soon, other cyclists joined Empty Juan, and an army of roughly 200 riders dispersed through the area, providing aid where they could. And slowly, the clean-up of Valencia began.
Vielo Athlete Empty Juan Dual
Juan Dual is truly “empty.” As a teen, doctors diagnosed Empty Juan with a rare hereditary condition that put him at an unusually high risk of cancer in his digestive tract. As a young man, he would have several preventative surgeries, removing internal organs such as his stomach, gallbladder, colon, and rectum.
Despite these massive surgeries, Empty Juan went on to be an ultra-runner and ultra-cyclist, catching the attention of brands like Vielo. It would be on his Vielo gravel bike that Empty Juan delivered aid to the devastated communities of Valencia, where Juan is also a native.
“So many of my friends and family were affected by the floods. Photographers with their equipment ruined, restaurants and businesses destroyed. It was like a Godzilla movie but without the monster.”
Without hesitation, Empty Juan began to help in any way possible. While this would be an incredible undertaking for anyone, it was especially risky for Juan. Having had many of his internal organs removed put him at a higher risk of infection. Slogging through the bacteria-laden water and mud could have cost the athlete his life.
“We started distributing whatever we could straight away. With my bike, I was much quicker than the cars or those walking. So I did many trips.”
While the cleanup was more immense than anyone could imagine, people like Empty Juan and his army of cyclists made an impact in those early days.
Vielo Helps in the Aftermath
In the aftermath of the flooding in the Valencia region, Vielo wanted to find a meaningful way to support what would be a complete start over for many. Vielo’s engineer, Jens Buder, who is also a professor at Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany, had an idea that stemmed from a university project he was currently working on.
Buder and his engineering students had recently undertaken a project to utilize materials from a retired Airbus A380 airplane and transform them into something meaningful. The team’s idea was to upcycle certain parts of the plane and build a cargo bike.
Knowing of the devastation in Valencia, they decided that the residents of the impacted communities might benefit from as many cargo bikes as the students could build.
The university engineering team used 55mm diameter carbon fiber struts used to support the floor of the plane. Not only are the tubes much larger and thicker than what would traditionally be used in bicycle carbon tubing layup, but they also have a flipped fiber-to-resin ratio. While bikes are typically 30/70 fiber-to-resin, the upcycled struts were 70/30.
This would make them very strong. However, the added strength and emphasized tubing don’t add much weight, as completed cargo bikes are under 30lbs. While remaining light, they can carry a load of over 150lbs.
They cut the tubes and machined them to size, eventually tacking them together with epoxy. Frame joints are then wrapped and bonded using special carbon strands and epoxy.
With the frames complete, Vielo now had to build a bike with unconventional sizing. To do this, they had special components, such as bottom brackets and headsets, made. Vielo then partnered with other industry brands such as WTB, Cambrian, Token, Satori, and Tektro. These brands helped with tires, wheels, drivetrains, brakes, and touchpoints.
Check out the short film Vielo made on the project.
