Rare Itera Plastic Bicycle 1981 for Volvo

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Rare Itera Plastic Bicycle 1981 for Volvo

About the Item

In response to the 1974 oil crisis, a small group of Swedish engineers obtained government funding to develop a bicycle completely composed of fiber-reinforced composite plastics (FRP). By 1980, the Itera Development Center AB was designing, producing, and marketing injection molded plastic bicycles to a seemingly interested market. However, when the first bicycles were delivered in 1982, the problems with quality assurance and design began stacking up against the company. Following the IKEA model, bicycles were delivered unassembled. While this may have saved on production costs, not every box contained every part, which upset many customers. Furthermore, the plastic parts broke easily and replacements were hard to come by. With slow sales and many unhappy customers, production ended in 1985 after approximately 30,000 examples were made. The remaining unsold stock was sold to Caribbean region countries where the plastic bicycle became a popular solution to rust-prone medal bicycles. This bicycle has been described as heavy, flexible, and fragile, and is considered one of the worst bikes ever made! The Itera bicycle at West Somerset museum, is known as a 'great failure of bike design' but has its place in cycling history.An innovation which appears good on paper but turns into a commercial fail: this is the story of the Itera bicycle developed by Volvo. Substituting metal with plastic was the peculiar idea of a Swedish designer. In 1978, funding was released for this composite plastic bicycle project by a Swedish organisation, The Swedish National Board for Technical Development. In 1980, a functional prototype was produced and in 1981 the first models were presented to the press and to the retailers. In 1982, the bicycle models manufactured in a factory in Wilhelmina (Sweden) appeared on the market. Made of composite material with injected fibreglass stick rims all tinted in the mass along with polyamide wheels, the Itera is equipped with 3-speed Sturmey-Archer derailleur in the hub, including the dynamo, an anti-theft key, and an XM9 Iscaselle saddle. The bike was delivered unmounted in a cardboard box, but there were complaints from purchasers about missing pieces or tools for the mounting. There were many reasons for the failure of this model including difficult maintenance, lightweight structure and replacement and replacement parts becoming out of stock to name a few. Plus, the Itera presented a certain fragility depending on the climate: if it was too cold, the frame could break and it was unbalanced. In reality, the perfect concept wasn’t quite so perfect: nothing could replace the good old metal frame. The Itera wasn’t the commercial success hoped by Volvo. The production ended in 1985 after approximately 30 000 copies and Itera became a collector’s item. The Itera is on display in hall 3 of the Museum and is on loan from a private collector.

Creator:
Volvo (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Height: 45 in (114.3 cm)Width: 70 in (177.8 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)
Style:
Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Plastic
Place of Origin:
Sweden
Period:
1980-1989
Date of Manufacture:
1981
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. All original.
Seller Location:
Hudson, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU847322214402