After a lot of hype, the Cardboard Bike has finally gone crowd sourcing. Instead of the Kickstarter as initially proposed, the Cardboard Bike is on Indiegogo – though it is currently only open to those who pre-registered for the campaign. After 24 hours (tomorrow morning) the campaign will open to everyone and will have 45 days left to go. It might be a good thing they have a while, as there is a lofty goal of raising $2 million dollars by the end of the campaign. Of course, the flexible funding campaign through Indiegogo means they receive all of the contributions even if the goal isn’t reached.
In addition to autographed prints, t-shirts, and a miniature DIY cardboard origami model of the bike designed by Paul Jackson, there are also complete bikes and even a kid’s balance bike up for grabs. Set at $250 for a standard bike and $350 for a limited edition autographed bike in one of five colors, the pricing may be higher than what was expected when the bike was introduced. Remember though, that these funds are to get a production line of the bikes up and running. At that point Izhar’s vision of reducing the cost of the bicycles through green rebates and subsidies may come true in the end.
