Bikes in Rwanda 2018
 

In Africa bikes are omnipresent and used for all kinds of transportation, as taxis, for carrying crops, water, construction materials etc. Taking photos, at least in Eastern Africa, is challenging as people get upset when they sight a camera in operation. With this, the only option is to take photos while moving. Below is a sample of photos from Rwanda taken in 2018.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...823d118724.jpg

Bamboo Frame Manufacturer


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c97a56ab5.jpg

Bike Taxis


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e154675776.jpg

Up the Mountain

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bdd6fdcfc3.jpg

Village Life close to Border with DR Congo



https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2e31e87753.jpg

Hitching a Ride

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...017c38ce21.jpg

By the Road

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...79171e9f8c.jpg

Carrying Milk

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...46ff4179cb.jpg

Corner Repair Hub


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7d9afa2fe4.jpg

General Cargo

Thank you for sharing this! I had something of a fascination with day-to-day utility cycling in actual working situations (vs say, grocery getting). Never ceases to amaze me just how much some folk can handle on a bike - certainly things I don't have the confidence to try readily. It's also interesting that I very rarely see any trailers in use - just the rear rack and the bike frame itself - seems to be the case not only here but in places like Tibet, too.

That bamboo bike frame is rather handsome - I wonder how well it holds up over time?

M.

Indeed most people just use what is available as a mass market product. I saw bikes tied together, front to rear, for carrying construction beams, but no trailers.

The joints are saturated with resin and the coating on bamboo is presumably also resin. I rode the bike and it was light and nimble. However at the time they did not solve the problem of mounting the front derailleur - the seat tube obviously exceeds standard diameters and moreover varies from a bike to a bike. In the photo you can see a triple crankset but no derailleur. A week after I took the photo they made it into an article in a local newspaper about a trade show advertising products made in Rwanda, with a government minister talking about them as an example of what you can accomplish. Here is their website, still no derailleur there:

Rwanda Bamboo Bike

Great post! The bicycle has truly revolutionized the world.