European manufacturer Museeuw Bikes' MF bicycles are decidedly different: they're made of carbon fiber combined with flax. "Flax is a natural fiber, which is very robust, flexible and light," explains founder Johan Museeuw. "These properties make the fiber very popular in the automotive industry (including BMW, Audi, Daimler-Benz) and the aviation sector, and it provides excellent shock properties." Their carbon-flax MF was innovative enough to beat out 3,000 entries from 35 countries to take top prize for the IF Product Design Award 2008, in the Lifestyle/Leisure category, and will be on display at the winner's exhibition in Germany from March to August of 2008.
Shock value: combining carbon fiber with flax
