This bike was specifically designed to bring transportation to low-income, rural areas
Ever heard of the Buffalo Bike? It probably doesn’t look like the flashy, lightweight, or streamlined bicycles we normally see. But it’s got something that most bikes these days lack: an extreme ruggedness and cost-effective design that helps it last as long as possible while serving as many people as possible for as little cost as possible.
The folks at World Bicycle Relief (WBR) designed the Buffalo Bike as a workhorse that could provide a new, cost-effective form of transportation to those in need. For people lacking access to independent transportation methods, the Buffalo Bike is meant to change lives by providing new opportunities and access.
“People need transport to go about their daily lives, but in rural areas the options are limited, if there are any options at all,” explained Johanna Vega, World Bicycle Relief’s Colombia Program Manager. “Every Buffalo Bicycle has its own story to tell. A bicycle helps people access basic services, it helps them get to school, it opens new markets for entrepreneurs, and helps communities come together. Whatever the use, bicycles help people in rural areas pursue a better future.”
In addition to providing bicycles in communities, World Bicycle Relief also trains locals as bike mechanics, creating a source of local expertise for maintenance and repairs.
“Our trained mechanics ensure that riders have ongoing access to local, quality maintenance,” explained the WBR. “More than 3,000 trained mechanics around the world keep Buffalo Bicycles on the road using basic tools and locally available spare parts.”
Fortunately, the bikes are designed to be as easy to service as possible by reducing necessary maintenance and common failure points. Instead of a lightweight and expensive frame, it uses rugged steel. That’s how the rear rack can carry 100 kg (220 lb), not to mention the rest of the bike.
Instead of maintenance-intensive hand brakes, the bike uses a super simple and essentially bulletproof coaster brake. And instead of a complicated drivetrain, a single-speed setup means there are fewer parts to break.
Each bike component is designed to make it withstand hard, everyday riding while keeping costs down to ensure more bikes can reach more of those in need.
But you can’t buy a Buffalo Bike, or at least not for yourself. A $165 donation helps donate a bike to someone in need. And we recently learned from Trek more about how the company has helped ensure even those Buffalo Bikes make their way to those in need.
For the last three years, the major bicycle company Trek has partnered with World Bicycle Relief to support a major fundraising campaign that sees Trek’s employees, customers, and retailers encouraged to donate by a matching donation pledge from Trek.
At the end of 2023, Trek’s campaign resulted in over US $1 million in donations, or enough to send over 6,000 bicycles to communities in need.
Those bikes will be headed to Buffalo communities across Africa and South America, including Zambia, Kenya, Colombia, and Zimbabwe.
Electrek’s Take
This is a wonderful program and I wish I had learned about it sooner. Not only is it a great cause, but it’s also an interesting opportunity to look at the engineering side of what goes into a high-value bicycle designed for serious everyday riding.
I’ve long been a proponent of single-speeds (though my flat landscape certainly works in my favor there), and the lack of suspension shows that a bike can work fine with a rigid frame and fork – and in some cases works even better due to the simpler design!
I always love seeing projects where large numbers of bikes are donated in areas where people don’t have access to independent transportation, as it speaks to just how important these tools are for our daily lives. I think I’m going to donate a bike today, too.
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Environment
NYC’s new 15 MPH speed limit for e-bikes goes into effect next month, but cars still get a pass
New York City’s new 15 mph speed limit for electric bikes is officially set to take effect next month, in what city officials claim is a move to improve street safety. But not everyone is convinced the crackdown is targeting the real threat on the roads.
The new limit, approved earlier this year, applies to e-bikes, mopeds, and other micromobility vehicles operating in city bike lanes. Riders caught exceeding 15 mph could face warnings or citations, though the exact enforcement strategy remains murky. The NYPD says it will focus on “education first,” but given the city’s track record, that could just be the calm before the ticket storm.
The rule comes amid growing concerns from some residents and officials about rising speeds among e-bike riders, especially delivery workers who often rely on throttle-equipped bikes to meet tight deadlines. But while the new speed cap is aimed at micromobility vehicles, there’s a noticeable omission: cars, trucks, and SUVs, which continue to be allowed to travel at 25 mph – and in practice, often much faster – even though they pose exponentially more risk to vulnerable road users and are responsible for orders of magnitude more deaths each year.
It’s a move that raises eyebrows and has resulted in thousands of publicly-submitted comments that the New York Department of Transportation has seemingly ignored.
After all, the majority of traffic fatalities in New York City don’t involve e-bikes. They involve cars. And while some e-bike riders certainly ride irresponsibly, the blanket limit nearly cuts in half the more widely accepted e-bike speed limits used around the US, and doesn’t even apply to pedal bikes, which can easily exceed such speeds despite nearly identical average weights when factoring in the vehicle and rider. Not to mention, it ignores the critical role that e-bikes play in reducing traffic congestion and emissions, especially in the delivery and commuting sectors.
So while New York is slowing down its most efficient and sustainable form of urban transport, it’s letting the real heavyweights keep their speed. If the goal is safety, then it’s fair to ask: why aren’t cars being asked to go 15 mph too?
Because once again, it seems the rules are written for the powerful – not the vulnerable.
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Environment
Tesla is now buying ads on Elon Musk’s X to get people to vote for his $1 trillion compensation
Tesla is now buying advertising on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) to get Tesla shareholders to vote for his CEO compensation package worth up to $1 trillion in stock options.
Tesla, under Elon Musk’s leadership, has famously been against advertising. The CEO is even on the record saying that he “hates advertising” and that “other companies spend money on advertising and manipulating public opinion, Tesla focuses on the product.”
However, that was before he acquired Twitter, now X, which relies heavily on advertising.
After that, he started to push Tesla to do some advertising, but the company quickly stopped or greatly reduced its advertising efforts.
We reported that Tesla’s advertising effort picked back up last week, starting with a few Google ads to encourage Tesla shareholders to vote for Musk’s new unprecedented CEO compensation package worth up to $1 trillion.
The automaker is in a full-on marketing blitz to convince shareholders to vote for the package and to allow Tesla to issue more shares in exchange.
Now, Tesla is even buying social media ads to push shareholders to vote for Musk’s compensation package and they are even buying ads on Musk’s privately owned platform, X:
They are also buying ads on Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit.
As we previously reported, Tesla’s board has claimed that voting for the compensation package will determine the future of Tesla.
Musk went even further and linked his compensation package to the future of the world.
Earlier today, the CEO claimed that his compensation plan is not about money, but about control over Tesla:
It’s not about “compensation”, but about me having enough influence over Tesla to ensure safety if we build millions of robots. If I can just get kicked out in the future by activist shareholder advisory firms who don’t even own Tesla shares themselves, I’m not comfortable with that future.
The CEO previously threatened Tesla shareholders not to build AI products at Tesla, despite claiming they were critical to the company’s future, if he doesn’t get 25% control over the company.
Electrek’s Take
The CEO of a publicly traded company threatens shareholders to gain control over the company and uses company funds to purchase ads that benefit his privately held company, with the goal of persuading the shareholders of the publicly traded company to give him more money.
If that’s not late-stage capitalism, I don’t know what is.
Also, I know I won’t shock anyone here, but Elon is lying about this not being about money.
If he wants to increase his percentage of Tesla shares, he could do exactly what his friend Larry Ellison did with Oracle and do long-term buybacks. It would benefit everyone, but it’s not what he wants. He wants the shiny new stock options.
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