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World Bicycle Relief introduces The Buffalo Bicycle S2 featuring a 'low-tech' dual chain with a dual freewheel system for casual and mountainous conditions
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- Title
- Why This Bicycle Absolutely NEEDS 2 Chains
- Authors
- Berm Peak
- Duration
- 15:09
- Published
- Feb 2 2025
The official website is here and according to the Buffalo Ride website it costs $123 to supply a single bike.
Overall, I loved the mission - and I loved the simplicity in the technology.
It's obvious how to donate one, but is it possible to buy one of these bikes for yourself?
From the last time I looked into this, the answer is to buy one from a local dealer.
If they aren't in your area, that's kind of the point. These are made with a charitable organization, and their goal is not to make them available to everyone, they are to serve the otherwise under-served areas that need them the most.
I don't think there's one anywhere near me. They could charge twice the price and it would still be way cheaper than anything else I've seen, and then they could use the extra profit for their real mission.
Part of the reason why they are so cheap, though, is precisely because they are made in the countries they are made in, where labor is much less expensive. To get it made, packaged, and shipped to you would likely increase the cost by more than double. They are (relatively) heavy and take up a lot of space.
If you want to help support people doing good things and you want a good high quality bike, then what I would suggest is to purchase a good high quality bike from a domestic, potentially even local manufacturer. The nice thing about Bicycles, from an economic perspective, is that they aren’t all made by megacorporations outsourcing everything from overseas.
https://worldbicyclerelief.org/bike-frame-innovation/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-17115923
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/its-an-engineering-feat-why-this-22kg-bicycle-has-two-chains
Regarding the Buffalo S2 specifically:
As far as I can tell, the bikes were originally made in India, they're now made in Taiwan, and World Bicycle Relief is currently looking to make them in Africa.
However, I'm not sure what exactly is meant by "made". Is it just that the individual parts are made in Taiwan and then shipped to, and assembled in, Africa? Or are the bikes shipped almost completely assembled, and then just finished in Africa?
Cool bicycle though. I'd really like to try out a bike like that. I've never been the happiest with my bicycle (or more specifically, its derailleur I guess). The urge to just get a single speed has been strong, but then I hit a hill and those thoughts quickly go away.
Something like the Buffalo S2: simple, reliable, durable, versatile (and cheap), checks all the boxes for what I want out of a bicycle. If anyone has recommendations for similar bikes that are available in the US, I'd like to know
When I first saw this video, I agreed wholeheartedly. Especially if they are all shipped from Taiwan anyway. I think they should have a « buy one, donate one » program for developed countries. I would happily pay twice the price, and shipping, and assemble it myself, especially if it also meant someone who needed a bike also got one.
Since I watched that video, I had another thought as to why they possibly can’t do this. They mention that some of the bike companies donated engine time to design the shifting mechanism. Maybe part of that agreement is that they can’t sell it commercially?
You're probabaly not going to find one with the two chain design they have, and you won't have the same kind parts that make it servicable with more common tools, but if you want something reliable and work-ready you might want to try out a fixed gear cargo bike. There are a number of companies making them in the US, and while I can't really recommend any in particular but I hear that Workman bikes are good and some of them can be made to-order with a number of options.
It'll be a heavy bike, though.
mama didnt raise no bitch
Until you get into carbon fiber components, and then that's exactly what you get.
True that! But to be fair, those kinds of things are kind of the opposite of the Buffalo bicycle's ethos.
Really, if we go component-by-component, there are tons of bikes with outsourced parts. The most notable name in components is Shimano, which has factories all around the world. Ebike components are almost entirely made by Chinese companies. My ebike has a motor by Bafang (China), brakes by Tektro (Taiwan), and shifter/deraileur by Shimano (Japan and everywhere else). But the bike was actually designed and built in Utah, USA, just two states away from where I live.
Alternate Nebula link
If you liked this, you can also watch the same guy talk about a bike that is perhaps the complete opposite: the Revo (Youtube)
Did they create their own wiki page? It's full of external links in the text itself, and the article reads like it's trying to sell me a bike. It's like it has been copied directly from PR material.
Good catch — I opened a topic on the article for improvements here