BIKE LANE SWEEPER
This page gives an overview of this project. For a dedicated website with more info, head over to bikelanesweeper.com.
Bike lane sweepers are a type of bike trailer with an electrically-powered brush for removing debris from bike lanes. They remove all sorts of debris including rocks, glass, nails, and leaves, making bike lanes safer for cyclists. These sweepers work so well that we started making them for others and even sold one to the City of Penticton in BC.
The story of the bike lane sweeper
We’re fans of bicycles not just for flying through the woods but also for getting around. Unfortunately, on the Sunshine Coast where Lal Bikes is located, there’s a lot of debris in the bike lanes. This causes flat tires and sometimes forces cyclists into the car lane. When Cedric moved to the Sunshine Coast, he started volunteered with a local group called Transportation Choices that regularly gets a few keeners to sweep bike lanes with brooms. This got him thinking about better solutions and led to the start of a collaboration with Pierre Lermant who was building prototype bike lane sweepers in California. These early prototypes either picked up debris or pushed debris to the side. We came up with a new type of bike lane sweeper that can do both pick up and push aside sweeping. We call these hybrid bike lane sweepers.
Bike lane sweepers in action
Here’s a video of removing leaf debris from a bike lane. Don’t want to slip on this stuff.
Here’s a video of removing glass. Think of all the flat tires that could be avoided.
The alternative to these bike lane sweepers is sweeper trucks that start at around 300,000 CAD. No wonder municipalities are reluctant to maintain bike lanes when it costs so much. Our sweepers not only cost way less but are also eco-friendly and they show the versatility of bikes.
We’re using our equipment (welder, mill, lathe, 3D printers, etc.) and our workspace to manufacture bike lane sweepers for the “Bike Lane Sweeper” business that Pierre Lermant started. If you want to find out more, head over to bikelanesweeper.com.
