Audi teams up with Renovo to build... hardwood bicycles?!

13 years, 6 months ago - 5 April 2011

Renovo is a Portland, Oregon-based bicycle company that builds custom high-end bike frames exclusively from hardwood. For 2011, Renovo has teamed with Audi to produce the duo, a limited-run bike that uses a wood monocoque frame. Audi says the bikes are designed to show its commitment to sustainability and forward thinking.

According to Audi, wood is about 75 percent lighter per cubic inch than aluminum, and is just as stiff and durable while offering a shock-absorbing ride. The woods used mirror those Audi uses to decorate the interiors of its cars, providing a tidy aesthetic connection between the two companies.

The duo comes in three models: the duoCity, duoSport and duoRoad. The City and Sport models use an internal-gear belt-driven hub for space efficiency and ease of maintenance, while the Road model has a more traditional SRAM Red derailleur set up.

The wood frames are individually hand-built, and are bedecked with some seriously high-end components. Translation: they're expensive. The City model is the cheapest, at $6,530, followed by the Sport at $7,350 and the Road at $7,460.