Everyone has heard by now that plastics save weight. And most have heard of the airplane “Airbus”, if not EADS, its European parent. With “Airbike”, the pioneering user of thermoplastic composites in aviation recently presented an unheard of concept for ground transportation that nevertheless could take off.

Clever marketers might label the two-wheeler, “grown” from a fine polyamide powder, a bioplastic product. More to the point, its manufacturing process similar to 3D printing is said to turn out parts 65% lighter than traditional machined parts. This means that even if never airborne the new EADS baby is capable of evoking flights of fancy.