Junkyard innovators
Five engineering students are building one-of-a-kind bikes from scrap materials.
The woes of an engineering student are well known. Four years of lectures, classes, exams and backlogs are neither easily survived, nor forgotten. But five fourth-year students from the Lords Institute of Management and Technology are putting their theoretical knowledge to use in a way that not only helps the environment but also nurtures city-dwellers’ love for bikes. They’re custom-building bikes from scratch using scrap materials.
Talking about their prized projects, Ilyas Khan, the captain of the team, says, “The ‘Brat Bob’ and ‘Fury’ were built to show youngsters and students how they could enjoy custom-built bikes while doing something good for the environment. The engines of these bikes are specially tuned to reduce carbon emissions. Everything but the engine and the wheels have been custom-designed and built by our team. The ‘Brat Bob’ has a car-like gear shift, and its front suspension is unique both in terms of engineering and aesthetics. We started building it in August last year and it took us almost a month and a half to complete.”
Ilyas’ team consists of Awais Amjad, Wahaj Uddin, Osman Quadri and Amer Hassan. For Ilyas, Awais and Wahaj, this project is not their first build. In the past, the trio has built an electric skateboard and a dual-engine car, among other things. For newbies Amer Hassan and Osman Quadri, the experience has been thoroughly exhilarating.
The group initially started working on their bike-building project by themselves, until their work was noticed by their college, which led to an inflow of funding. Since then, the institute’s faculty members Mohammed Ahmed and Yousuf Ahmed have also guided and mentored the boys. As part of the process, the team goes out to collect raw materials like sheet metal, rods, and metal pipes, which they then fabricate into bike parts by hand. The few parts that they aren’t equipped to build by themselves, they acquire from second-hand bike markets and scrap shops. Each bike takes them a little over two months to build.
The question is, are these just passion-projects or do they plan on putting their creations up for sale? “These bikes are definitely for sale. Each bike will probably cost around Rs 80,000, and they can be used daily. We are also open to receiving customisation orders from people outside our college,” Ilyas says.