Itera plastic bike

[richardtheforth]

Hello all.
Is there any interest in the Itera plastic bike on here? Does anyone own or use one?

Here's mine:

[volvoid]

A rare thing, didnt catch on. Are they any good ?

[DaveNP]

I just tried searching for it online and it doesn't even have it's own Wikipedia page! How obscure is that? There is a page for plastic bikes though, and apparently Volvo had a big hand in the original idea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_bicycle
Other references to them on the web don't seem too complimentary with the best agreement being it was an interesting solution to a problem that didn't really exist, and didn't quite work as it should.

[purplebargeken]

That bike looks very familiar

Ken

[Chris_C]

Second time these have popped up for me in a week! I'd never heard of them before, but was at the Bakelite museum last weekend (no giggling at the back ) and there was a few there.

Looked interesting different, I'm interested in the same thing as Volvoid, what are they like to ride?

[richardtheforth]

Originally Posted by purplebargeken

That bike looks very familiar

Ken

Hi Ken,
Yep, it's me... wasn't expecting to bump into you here! Am I right in thinking you've got an Amazon?

[richardtheforth]

Originally Posted by volvoid

Are they any good ?

Excellent question! I suppose it depends what your expectations are, and what you're comparing it to. There's very little info about these on the web, and what there is, especially on cycle forums, is very negative, but in a 'jumping on the bandwagon' type way, as happens with cars that are interesting or unusual. There certainly wasn't a need for a plastic bike in the early 80's but I think this came out of a research project into urban mobility/car alternatives that would be accessible to many.

The simplified history I think is that these were envisaged as being mass market cheap bikes for everyone, but ended up selling as a premium bike so commercially they bombed because they were up against much more capable 'traditional' bikes.
They're glass fibre reinforced ABS, so the the frame won't snap, or melt on a hot day, etc etc! Plastic wheels, pedals and forks, in fact the only metal bits are the chain and gears.

Originally Posted by Chris_C

what are they like to ride?

'Interesting' is probably the best description. There's flex in the handlebars when you pull away, which is disconcerting until you're used to it. This was rectified with later ones as these had metal handlebars.
Mine has got 3 speed Sturmey Archer gears so it goes OK, especially on the flat where it seems to keep plenty of momentum. I kept up with cycle couriers through London, between traffic lights.
Not so much fun up anything other than gentle inclines. They're a bit heavier than a 'normal' bike, but have a built in handle in the frame just above the pedals so are fairly easy to lift.
The truth probably is that they're much more normal that you might expect.

I've got a thread on 'autos h i t e' about collecting it, my initial impressions and lots of detail photos if anyone's interested in more, and it will save me copying/pasting it all:

http://auto****e.com/topic/24398-198...ycle/?hl=itera


PS: is that the Bakelite museum in Williton Somerset? I thought that had closed down a few years ago?

------------------

Edit: looks like the link is too rude. Apologies for the foul language. Try copying/pasting this:

http://autos h i t e.com/topic/24398-1980s-volvothe-itera-plastic-bicycle/?hl=itera

but delete the spaces in 's h i t e'

[warninglight]

I enjoyed reading about you collecting this on AS/the brown forum. Need to have a look back in as I don't get on there often enough!

Funnily enough a friend spotted one for sale on Facebook yesterday and is goading me to get it bought. It's £250, is that about right for an Itera? What to look out for?

[richardtheforth]

I first came across the Itera at the 2013 NEC classic car show, on the Volvo Enthusiasts Club stand. I thought they were brilliant and started looking int them and finding out a bit more as I was surprised that I'd not come across them before. I started keeping an eye on prices on eBay. There are a plenty of shabby ones that come up in not very good condition for less than £100. Mainly this means broken bits since I doubt these bikes have been used enough to wear components out. My advice would be to pay a bit more for one that doesn't have anything broken as there's almost zero chance of finding replacement bits for these bikes. Mudguards seem to be the usual thing to break or be missing.

£250 should get you a really good, pretty much immaculate one with no broken bits and very little signs of use. Itera bikes advertised for more than this just don't sell, you see them sitting on eBay for months at £300 or £350. Tyres and inner tubes are standard sizes, so easy to get hold of and gears are standard Sturmey Archer used on lots of old bikes so I assume replacement gears wouldn't be a problem. You could check that the built in lights work and that the batteries haven't corroded or leaked.

Then it's down to originality... The rear rack has a rubber bungie strap that is often missing, some have the built in lock and key missing. Beyond that look out for original extras that might be a bit unusual, like a bell, plastic panniers etc. They came in powder blue and white too, but most are funky beige like mine.

Where are you/the bike? Can you post photos up, either here or on my AS thread for comment?

[Bonefishblues]

I remember them being used as hire bikes when I moved to Oxford in the early 80s.