Below is the advertising copy and a couple of pictures from a 1970's brochure that we picked up.  I have never actually seen one of these bike and don't know if any ever existed.  The ability to makes bikes out of 1970's era plastics seems a little far fetched.  Some have suggested that it was an investment scam?  If you look at the pictures, you can see that the bikes are equipped with metal parts and that the control cables are not even hooked up.

 

The Company:  The idea for the plastic bike was originally conceived by two bicycle enthusiasts, Joseph Dorrity and Charles Cadorette.  After studying the feasibility of producing a bicycle from plastic, Original Plastic Bike Inc. was formed on December 15,1971

The President and co-founder of the company is John P. Marzullo.  Mr. Marzullo holds a Doctor of Laws degree and is also president of J-Mar Funding Ltd., and investment marketing firm.  He is also director of several other U.S. and Canadian companies, and serves as financial advisor to public corporations in the area of mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance.

Executive vice president and also co-founder is Roger Stark.   Mr. Stark is a director of several other U.S. corporations and is a marketing consultant to the leisure time activities industry.

A director and vice president of research and development is the man who turned the dream into reality.  William Thompson.  Mr. Thompson holds a degree in engineering and is president of several corporations dealing in audio visual aids, plastic fabrication, tool and die design and is also one of the world's foremost authorities in the field of engineered structural resins.

In addition to filling the void in the consumer bicycle market, Original Plastic Bike Inc. will become the first and only manufacturer of complete bicycle parts in the United States.

The Bike: The Original Plastic Bike is the world's first and only plastic bicycle.

Its frame, fork and handlebar, front & rear hubs, freewheels, chain wheels, derailleur system, caliper handbrakes and chain are completely produced from this patented engineered plastic (more properly called engineered structural resins).

Because of its unique design (unibody construction) and strength of this revolutionary plastic, it is structurally stronger than steel.  The frame alone will support a fully equipped automobile.

Because of the self-lubricating qualities of this patented plastic, maintenance and breakdown is virtually eliminated.  It requires no grease or oil.

The OPB is also equipped with newly designed reflectorized tires, giving it a safety feature no other bike can offer.

The OPB weighs less than 17 lb., making it ideal for the racing enthusiasts.  This bike is truly no toy.

It comes in 6 colors and 3, 5 or 10 speeds.  The color on the OPB is not exactly on the bike.  It's in it.  The color is actually embedded in the plastic at the time of molding.  It will never chip, discolor or rust.  The colors are green, blue, red, yellow, white and black.

You also have a choice of speeds 3, 5 or 10. (In sizes 26 and 27 in.)  The freewheels, chain wheels and derailleur system allows you to maximize gear ratio with optimum transmission.

Now enough talk.  Take a look on the opposing page at the greatest bicycle since the bicycle was invented.

We would venture a wild guess that if you were shot with a 45 caliber bullet at 25 paces the results would be quite damaging.  Unless you were an OPB of course.  Little things like bullets don't bother it much.  And if you were to drive 11,000 lb. of weight over you, beat you brutally with sledgehammers, pour sulfuric acid all over you, and submerge you in salt water for a few months, to say the least, it would probably hurt you.  Sometimes it just pays to be a plastic bicycle.   Our bikes will withstand temperatures of 30 below0 to 500 F, which is probably more than most human beings can withstand.  But there is one more thing you can be thankful for as a human being.  You won't ever have to go through the torture we put our plastic bike through.

Plastic Parts:  All our plastic parts are lighter in weight than conventional metal parts and they're lighter in price too.

You have the choice of six colors (which are embedded in the plastic).  Green, blue, red, yellow, white and black.

Because of this unique plastic and superior engineering we believe every part we make is far superior to all conventional metal parts.  They have smoother action, require no lubrication, and have less components overall with the results being sharply reduced maintenance.

Another important point is the availability of our parts.   Unlike most conventional metal parts our plastic parts will always be available.

The plastic caliper handbrake is a lightweight center pull type.  And it has a feature that most other bikes don't have.  The brakes are self-aligning.  This prevents uneven wear of the brake shoes and makes the braking system operate more efficiently.  Because of the self-alignment feature and the fact that it has less components, it is by far the most effect braking system made.  You would expect to pay more for a braking system this fine but we have actually reduced the price due to our production and engineering advances.

The plastic chain is like all our plastic parts, durable but lightweight.  The lightness of our chain will cut significantly on the overall weight of the bike.  But the beautiful feature of this chain is the fact that it requires no grease or oil.  This unique engineered plastic is completely self-lubricating and it also cuts down on friction.

Our front & rear plastic hubs are 36 hole, wide flange.   They are completely interchangeable with standard 3, 5, and 10 speed bicycles and work on a derailleur principle.  The hubs were tested for 3,000 continuous miles at an average speed of 25 m.p.h., showing no need of lubrication.  The hubs are absolutely immune to corrosion and virtually eliminate maximum friction and wear.   Dirt, grit and oil build-up are also eliminated due to the self lubrication qualities on this engineered plastic hub.  Obviously, because of our engineered plastic it is ideal for use in the manufacturing of bicycles.

The material in our freewheels and chain wheels have been ballistically tested for maximum impact strength.  They are non-corrosive and unbelievably light in weight.  Again, this will help cut down on the overall weight of the bike.  The double chain ring comes in a 47 & 52 teeth combination.   The single chain wheel used in the 3 & 5 speed bikes comes in a 47 teeth.

The freewheel teeth come in 14, 17, 21, 26, & 31 to be used in combination with chain wheels to make use of maximum gear ration efficiently.   This allows optimum transmission for the rider.

All information is from the original sales brochure