Subang man DIYs bicycle using discarded wood


diy bicycle project cover pic
A young man uses recycled wooden pallets to DIY a one of a kind bicycle
Image adapted from: @naviin_subra

We’re no stranger to DIY projects – whether it’s making small decorative items to spruce up your desk or an ambitious one to refurbish your home. With the COVID-19 outbreak keeping everyone at home and freeing our schedules, we’ve been seeing more of these DIY projects when scrolling through social media.

This 27-year-old man from Subang has earned a spot in the list of impressive DIYs resulting from Movement Control Order (MCO) with his one-of-a-kind bicycle that looks like it came straight out of a cartoon. But the project is not just all for show, as proven by a video of him taking the bicycle out for a short ride around his neighbourhood.


Total cost of the DIY bicycle project: RM14


According to mStar, it all started when Naviin Subra spotted a pile of wooden pallets by his housing complex that his neighbours had thrown out.

He shared that he felt frustrated while looking at the pile because he knew they could be easily recycled. That and the ample amount of free time he had, led to Subra taking up numerous DIY projects – the bicycle being one of them.

naviin with his diy bicycle
Image credit: @naviin_subra

After attaining permission from his neighbour to use their discarded pile of wooden pallets, Subra got down to work. He had an old bicycle laying around that he had also reclaimed from a dumping ground in his area.

He insisted on getting creative with fixing the old bicycle, especially now that he had a bunch of wooden pallets he could use.

naviin working on his project
Image adapted from: @naviin_subra

It all turned out well as he was left with a one of a kind bicycle that cannot be bought at any store. The cherry on top? The whole project cost him only RM14! The cash was solely spent on small pieces of hardware as he didn’t have to spend a cent on the materials.

naviin riding his diy bicycle
Image adapted from: @naviin_subra

As seen from the photos, Subra has retained the bicycle wheels and handle, but the body of the bicycle has been completely swapped out for wooden pallets instead.


No fancy appliances, just old school tools


Subra also shared in the interview that he had to keep the noise to a minimum when working on his project as he didn’t want to disturb his neighbours. Living in a housing complex, he had neighbours “left and right, top and bottom” and with the MCO in place, it would only be natural to assume that they would all be at home.

Therefore, he had to forgo all electrical appliances that created a lot of noise and instead, did everything the old school way – by manually screwing and piecing everything things together.


Being productive during the MCO


Although the MCO has kept many of us indoors with nothing to do, people like Subra proves that we can always find ways to make the most out of our time. After all, opportunities to stay at home the whole month don’t come very often.

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