11 Eco-Friendly Bikes To Put The Pedal To The Sustainable Metal
On your mark, get set, bike!
When it comes to pedal power, we’re some of the biggest spokes-men for eco-friendly bikes.
Regular cycling can reduce carbon emissions, benefit your health, and save you money on transportation.
Besides swapping to an eco-friendly water bottle, bicycling is one of the simplest ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
While bikes are inherently a more sustainable means of transportation, purchasing from ethical brands is still critical and fortunately, there are some brands determined to figure out how to make bikes more sustainable still.
So, who makes the best bicycles for the environment?
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Our Top Quality Bike Brands To Gear Up Your Sustainability
Brooklyn Bicycle Co gets everything right with affordable models from lightweight, ultra-durable chromoly steel and vegan leather.
Say hello to Pampro Bike’s smooth-riding bamboo bicycles supporting rural communities in Ghana.
If you’re looking for sustainable bike gear brands to outfit your new ride, Ornot offers a wide range of packs, mounts, and bags made from recycled fibers, merino wool, and deadstock fabric
Wondering, “Are e-bikes eco-friendly?”
Before you put rubber to the road on your new road bike, pedal to the bottom of the article to find out, as well as more on how we selected the best bike manufacturers.
The Full List Of Eco-Friendly Bicycles
Traditional Eco-Friendly Bikes
Eco-Friendly E-Bikes
Sustainable Bike Accessories & Gear
Traditional Sustainable Bicycles
1. Brooklyn Bicycle Co
About Brooklyn Bicycle Co
Price Range: $600–$1,100
Brooklyn Bicycle Co. makes some of the most durable bikes at affordable prices.
The bike manufacturer is inspired by the streets of Brooklyn, building options for style, comfort, and longevity.
The Roebling is one of their best-selling eco-friendly bicycles, featuring a lightweight hybrid frame made from sustainable steel, puncture-resistant wheels, and a 9-speed drivetrain for an effortless ride.
Additionally, Brooklyn provides a warranty covering bicycle manufacturing defects for their bike frames and covers parts for a year after purchase.
Brooklyn Bicycle Co’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Brooklyn Bicycle Co. designs each ride with input from industry expert Grant Persen.
They believe in sustainable bicycle manufacturing using Chromoly steel bike frames, a more robust metal than Hi-Ten steel or aluminum. Steel frames are lightweight and fully recyclable.
Their hubs include sealed bearings, and the rims are double-walled. Brooklyn adds nylon strips to protect its tires against flats and damage.
Many of their models come with a rust-inhibiting coating on the chain, but all models include grips and saddles made of water-resistant vegan leather.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All bikes are designed in Brooklyn by a small team, including a Board of Advisors and a group of industry experts.
The eco-friendly bikes are then manufactured in China and Taiwan. Brooklyn carefully selects its partners, ensuring worker safety, living wages, respect, and high-quality standards.
They regularly visit their partners and have overseas consultants on-site for every production run.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Brooklyn uses some of the most sustainable materials for its bikes, like stainless steel and aluminum.
These raw materials are easily recycled compared to traditional bike materials, like carbon fiber.
Community & charitable giving:
Brooklyn Bicycle Co. is leading the industry with its Buy & Ride program. They partner with an extensive network of local bike shops nationwide, providing professional assembly without additional costs.
2. Pampro Bikes
About Pampro Bikes
Price Range: $600–$3,700
Are bikes eco-friendly?
They sure are when they’re made from environmentally friendly materials like bamboo.
Pampro Bikes crafts sustainable bamboo bikes with plant-based eco-resin epoxy, providing a new way to cruise through the city. This process has a smaller carbon footprint than traditional materials and actively fights climate change.
The Jamasi is one of their top eco-friendly commuter bikes.
It features a handmade bamboo frame, 10-speed quality Shimano drivetrain, and hydraulic disc brakes.
Pampro Bikes’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Pampro uses renewable sources of bamboo to develop its bicycle frames. But don’t expect a weak, dainty frame.
Bamboo has a higher tensile strength than steel and specific compressive strength than concrete. You’ll be able to carry groceries or camping gear without losing a comfortable ride.
They combine the bamboo with a plant-based eco-resin epoxy and local sisal fiber for rigid joints.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Pampro Bikes are manufactured in a factory in Apaah, Ghana. They currently employ over 40 young people between 18 and 29 and provide work to roughly 20 harvesters.
Employees are provided on-the-job training and a steady income. They also receive social security, lunch, and health care benefits.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Bamboo has a much lower carbon footprint compared to traditional energy-intensive resources. The crop consumes CO2 and emits oxygen during its growth cycle.
Plus, Pampro doesn’t use any harmful agricultural chemicals.
Community & charitable giving:
Pampro Bikes has donated over 150 bamboo bicycles to local schools through partnership with UNICEF. They have also supported 400 school children via scholarships and helped fund regional school facilities.
All of Pampro’s profits are reinvested to provide more training opportunities and fund educational projects across rural communities in Ghana.
3. Greenstar Bikes
About Greenstar Bikes
Price Range: $439
If you’re in the market to build a new bike, consider purchasing a frame from Greenstar Bikes.
They’re another brand making sustainable bamboo bicycles, and the EcoCross Hybrid Bamboo Bicycle Frame is an affordable frame to get started.
Available in 16, 18, and 20-inch sizes, the frame is built from socially responsible bamboo and recycled aluminum. It includes accessory mounts for racks, fenders, kickstands, and bottle cages, so you can load it up with your favorite gear.
Greenstar Bikes’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Say goodbye to carbon bikes.
Greenstar uses ultra-durable and lightweight bamboo to craft its frames. They combine bamboo with recycled aluminum to create a sustainable bike built to last the most demanding rides.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Greenstar doesn’t state much about its bicycle manufacturing process, but it claims family farmers harvest its iron bamboo with simple hand tools. We’ll be touching base for more details.
They don’t use pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers to grow their crops.
Community & charitable giving:
Not only is every EcoCross commuter bike eco-friendly, but includes a lifetime warranty against manufacturer defects. If anything goes wrong, they will replace the frame for free.
4. Georgena Terry
About Georgena Terry
Price Range: $5,000–$6,500
Georgena Terry is an American bicycle designer and businesswoman who started the first and best bike company geared (get it?) toward women.
Women have different body types than men, often making it difficult to find a bike that fits them.
Since then, she has led the industry in custom sustainable bikes for women.
She works with each customer, providing a questionnaire to find out exactly what type of bike they’re looking for. Afterward, she designs the frame geometry and uses high-quality components to deliver a high-quality bike.
Georgena Terry’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Georgena designs each bike to specification out of sustainable steel tubing. This includes color, geometry, gearing, components, and frame design.
These steel frames are paired with components from top quality bicycle brands like Shimano, SRAM, Velocity, Schwalbe, and more.
You can also select from various paint finishes to personalize your bike to suit your tastes.
Supply chain & labor practices:
R+E Cycles in Seattle, Washington, builds the frames for Georgena’s custom bike frames.
The Velocity USA wheels are handcrafted in Grand Rapids, Michigan, meaning these are some of the best brands for sustainable bikes made in the USA.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
They provide a lifetime warranty on the frame and a one-year guarantee on some components.
5. Detroit Bikes
About Detroit Bikes
Price Range: $100–$1,200
Detroit Bikes also offers some of the best American-made bicycles.
The bike manufacturer does complete assembly, providing you with a handmade bike with attention to detail.
The Cortello is one of their most popular bikes, tricked out with ultra-durable American-made chromoly steel, SRAM NX 11-speed drivetrain, KMC anti-rust chain, hydraulic disc brakes, and Schwalbe Road Cruiser 700cx40mm tires.
Detroit Bikes’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Detroit Bikes utilizes high-quality American chromoly sustainable steel in all of its US-built bikes.
They also offer the Sparrow, which is a road bike made with a recyclable aluminum frame.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Detroit Bikes has a 50,000-square-foot factory in west Detroit where they cut, cope, bend, weld, paint, assemble, and package each bike.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
All of their chromoly sustainable steel bikes come with a lifetime frame warranty, allowing you to get as much use out of your ride as possible.
Because Detroit Bikes uses mostly American suppliers and does so much in-house work, they have a short supply chain that mitigates their environmental impact.
6. Second Hand Recycled Bikes
About Second Hand Recycled Bikes
Price Range: Varies
What is the most eco-friendly bike?
That’s easier than pedaling in first gear. The most sustainable bikes are those that already exist.
It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s estimated that there are over 1 billion bicycles worldwide. The bike industry has hundreds of manufacturers, each pumping out new bikes yearly.
This causes carbon emissions from mined metals, energy used at the facility, transportation, and packaging waste.
Purchasing a second hand recycled bike is a cost-effective solution that helps mitigate the environmental impact of bicycle manufacturing. Plus, it prevents old bikes from ending up in landfills.
A quick Google search for “recycled bikes near me” will bring up options in your area, but there are several options for purchasing sustainable bicycles:
- Your local bike shop: Many bike shops carry refurbished and recycled bikes. They are typically more expensive but are often tuned up before sale and include a warranty. The local bike shop team can help you find a bike frame that suits your build, and you can give it a test ride to be sure.
- Online Marketplaces Another way to find environmentally sustainable bikes is to shop second hand from Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Bikesoup, Bicycle Blue Book (which is also a useful valuation tool to ensure you’re getting a fair price), and similar sites. These bicycles are likely less expensive, but the condition can be hit or miss. It’s valuable to shop around and have some mechanical knowledge so you don’t buy a dud.
- Thrift Shops: Many thrift stores near you will have a bike or two tucked away in the back of the store. Prices, quality, inventory, and condition will vary depending on your area. It’s helpful to take a look regardless. Used outdoor gear stores often provide a more consistent stock.
- Word of mouth: You might know someone who hasn’t ridden their bike since college. Or, you might know a cycling enthusiast looking to get rid of their old 6-speed. Either way, it’s wise to ask your friends or local community to see if they’ll cut you a deal.
Sustainable E-Bikes
7. FattE-Bikes
About FattE-Bikes
Price Range: $2,000—$3,000
Women-owned, comfortable riding, and built in the United States—FattE-Bikes is a force to be reckoned with.
Their sustainable e-bikes feature 4.0-inch wide tires for a smooth ride, whether you’re in the city or traversing rough terrain.
The Sgt. Mingo Mountain is one of their best models, featuring a high-performance hybrid frame allowing you to go anywhere, anytime.
With a powerful 750-watt motor, you can reach speeds up to 26 mph and travel for up to 80 miles on a single charge.
FattE-Bikes’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
FattE-Bikes utilizes premium globally sourced parts, like aluminum frames, Shimano shifters, and Tektro mechanical disc brakes.
But their paint finish is what makes them truly unique.
Instead of using flimsy liquid paints filled with solvents and toxic chemicals, they use a powder coating. This creates a less harmful finish that’s more durable and long-lasting.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Everything is manufactured at their headquarters in Denver, CO. This includes painting, testing, tuning, complete assembly, and customization.
FattE-Bikes also strives to create local jobs, source local parts, and provide the highest quality control and customer service possible.
8. Electric Bike Company
About Electric Bike Company
Price Range: $1,499–$2,499
If you’re in the market for eco-friendly electric bikes made in the USA, look no further than the Electric Bike Company.
All of their e-bikes are built to order in-house at their studio in Southern California.
You can customize any of their models to suit your tastes or select pre-built options like one of their bestsellers, the Model R E-Bike.
EBC designed this model to strike a balance between off-roading and city cruising. It features a 750w motor, with a max speed of 28 mph and a range of 60 miles.
Plus, it includes a five-year warranty on the battery and a ten-year warranty on the motor and frame.
Electric Bike Company’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
EBC carefully selects its materials for quality construction. They start with a raw frame before painting and installing brake lines, wiring, and other components.
Afterward, they handcrafted the fenders and chain guards from walnut and maple boards.
The team puts together the batteries by hand, stainless steel, rust-resistant knots, bolts, and washers.
Right before inspection, the bike is signed by the person who built it, adding a personal touch.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Electric Bike Company cherry-picks its suppliers from around the world, allowing them to use the best materials in the industry.
Everything is built in-house, allowing their team of experts, engineers, designers, and customer service associates to work in tandem.
This ensures high degrees of quality control at every stage of the process, with every bike being tested and inspected before shipping.
Each e-bike is shipped fully to the customer in a fully recyclable box, including recyclable foam padding.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Because everything is made in-house, EBC has a tiny supply chain, and everything is shipped directly to the customer.
Their long-term warranties for maintenance, repair, and replacement ensure each customer gets the most out of their e-bike.
9. Junglewood
About Junglewood
Price Range: $69–$5,500
Junglewood owner Robert Cook started with bamboo baseball bats and quickly expanded into various high-quality products—including environmentally-friendly bikes.
They make various bicycles and kits, like the City Bike, fitted with a 10-speed transmission, Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, and a leather saddle.
The bikes feature plant-based epoxy resin, so there aren’t any harmful chemicals.
Junglewood’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Junglewood utilizes Nicaraguan bamboo, plant-based epoxy resin, and hemp for the majority of their materials. The rest of their components consist of industry standard brands, like Shimano and Tektro.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Junglewood’s bamboo is sourced from Waslala, Nicaragua. The material is harvested and processed through splitting, planing, curing, drying, and pressing.
Afterward, their partners ship directly to their facility in Canada where it is pressed, turned, and finished by tradesmen.
Sustainable Bike Gear Brands
10. Ornot
About Ornot
Price Range: $8–$86
Recycled bike gear brands like Ornot are changing the game when it comes to accessories.
They are one of the best bike companies for American-made clothing, bags, straps, lights, bottles, and more.
The Handlebar Bag EcoPak is one of their best items. The San Francisco brand innovated on previous designs, whether you have a road, commuter, or carbon bike.
The bag is made from ECOPAK™ recycled fabric with a PFC-free DWR coating. It’s easy to attach, including two rear pockets, one front pocket, and a right-side phone pouch.
Ornot’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Ornot crafts its supply of bike clothing and accessories out of recycled fibers, merino wool, and deadstock fabric.
They are conscious about ethical production and quality construction, sourcing bluesign® approved or OEKO-TEX-certified fabric when possible.
Ornot has also moved away from harmful chemicals, utilizing PFAS-free DWR coatings instead.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Much of Ornot’s eco-friendly bike accessories and clothing are made in California.
They work closely with their sewing partners, ensuring a high-quality product and ethical manufacturing process.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
With a short supply chain, Ornot reduces its carbon emissions. They are Climate Neutral Certified and offset their carbon footprint with certified carbon credits.
All of Ornot’s products include a one-year warranty protecting against manufacturing defects, so fewer accessories end up in landfills.
Plus, Ornot uses recycled, compostable, or upcycled packaging and soft-sided mailers. They encourage customers to reuse the soft-sided mailer when returning or exchanging products.
Community & charitable giving:
Ornot is a member of 1% for the Planet, donating a portion of its sales to approved organizations protecting the air, water, and environment.
If you happen to crash and ruin your gear, you can send them an email with pictures to receive a discount on a replacement.
11. Topo Designs
About Topo Designs
Price Range: $29–$49
Topo Designs is a high-quality bicycle brand producing exceptional accessories. They believe in The New Outdoor™—a new approach to outdoor manufacturing that follows utilitarian, sustainable, and inclusive values.
Options like the recycled nylon Mountain Bike Bag are ideal for traversing rough terrain. It’s versatile enough to fit most bicycle frames, allowing you to stash all your gear and attach lights or other accessories to the pack.
Whether you’re mountain biking through the backcountry or traversing the city streets, Topo Designs has something for you.
Topo Designs’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Topo begins every product with a clear plan on sustainability and materials.
For bike bags, that largely means recycled synthetic fabrics or occasionally Horween® Leather made using Leather Working Group’s guidelines.
Their sustainable outdoor clothing line consists of materials like GlobalWool™ made from 65% recycled Italian wool, organic cotton, and recycled fleece.
They also utilize GreenScreen-certified PFAS-free chemicals and low-impact dyes across their inventory.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Topo Designs’ Made in Colorado collection utilizes local assembly with shorter deliveries, reducing their carbon emissions.
Topo also selects partners that adhere to their sustainability goals. All of their local and international manufacturing partners follow FLA guidelines, maintaining certifications and best practices to exceed their expectations.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Top Designs has a long-term vision of reducing waste, harmful chemicals, and energy consumption. Over the next 3–5 years, they plan to reduce the amount of virgin materials they use in their packs and bags.
They incorporate technologies to reduce energy consumption and work with experts in the bike industry.
Topo is cruising towards sourcing 100% of its natural fibers from regenerative and responsible sources. Additionally, they eliminated single-use plastics from their packaging and participated in carbon offset initiatives.
Community & charitable giving:
Topo Designs created the MAP Pact to follow straightforward guidelines to maintain, act, and protect its communities. They have initiated several projects, like river cleanups and trail maintenance.
Through the MAP Guarantee™, Topo provides a limited warranty and repair program for its products.
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Why Are Bikes Sustainable?
We’ve all heard encouragement to bike rather than drive when possible, but why exactly? Just how eco-friendly are bikes compared to motorized methods of transportation?
As most of us know, conventional modes of transportation create some of the most harmful environmental impacts. In fact, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation contributed to roughly 29% of the total US emissions, making it the most significant contributor.
With average passenger vehicles pouring out around 271 grams of CO2 per kilometer, something has to be done.
Fortunately, cycling creates roughly 21 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled. An estimated three-quarters of these emissions occur from creating extra food to “fuel” rides, while the rest is from manufacturing.
This could have a considerable impact.
On average, those who completed one less trip by car and one more by bike decreased their emissions by 67%. The same European study found that if 10% of the population were to use their bike once a day, emissions could decrease by an estimated 10%.
Cycling doesn’t just benefit Mother Nature—it helps your health and well-being.
Bike rides provide several benefits to your cardiovascular system, balance, posture, strength, and well-being. Just a few bike rides a week can reduce the rate of all-cause mortality by upwards of 10%.
Additionally, it can enhance your sense of well-being and cognitive function. A 30-minute commute could be all you need to improve your mental health.
Last but not least, cyclists get more fresh air than car commuters, breathing less air pollution.
Are E-Bikes Sustainable?
With the invention of electric bikes, you might wonder—is an electric bike eco-friendly?
Electric bikes do have a higher manufacturing footprint compared to traditional bicycles on average. E-bikes produce around 134 kg of CO2, compared to 96 kg from conventional bikes.
But when you factor in energy and food, an e-bike produces roughly 15 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled. This is around 30% less than cycling.
Electric bicycles are a fantastic option, resulting in less carbon emissions compared to most forms of transportation.
How We Chose This Sustainable Bicycle Brands List
Aside from the low carbon emissions of use itself, what makes a bike sustainable?
Even though bicycles are nearly always a more sustainable transportation option, it’s still vital to select ethical brands.
Here are our criteria for how we chose these bike manufacturers.
Materials:
We know the best bike is a second-hand option. But what are sustainable materials for bikes?
One of the more sustainable materials is bamboo, as it’s a renewable resource that fights climate change during production. Otherwise, we looked for recycled metals, like aluminum and sustainable steel. Some brands are using recycled aluminum and we would like to see more recycled steel in the future.
We avoided carbon fiber frames, because, while they have an excellent strength to weight ratio, carbon fiber is not easily recyclable and often ends up in landfills.
Past that, we look for manufacturers using additional materials like low-impact PFAS-free finishes, vegan leather, and PFC coatings.
- Certifications: Leather Working Group (LWG), bluesign®, OEKO-TEX, GreenScreen
Supply chain & labor practices:
Many of the brands on our list have small bicycle manufacturing and supply chains with local sourcing.
We ensure each company treats its employees with fair wages, dignity, and ethical working conditions. Third-party audits, certifications, and inspections get us wheely excited.
- Certifications: Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), Fair Labor Association (FLA)
Carbon commitments & green practices:
The brands on our list put their pedal to the metal by reducing waste, energy consumption, and their overall environmental footprint.
This includes carbon offset initiatives and recyclable or compostable packaging.
Community & charitable giving:
We love brands who do more than spinning their wheels by giving back to their local communities, non-profit organizations, and social initiatives.
Final Thoughts On The Best Eco-Friendly Bikes
Can we make bicycles sustainable again?
The answer is a resounding ‘yes’!
Trading one of your commutes for a bike ride benefits the environment, your physical health, and your mental well-being. The production costs of a bicycle are much less detrimental than a traditional passenger car.
However, the best bicycle is one you already own or a second-hand option. Try to look for used or refurbished options before buying a new bike.
Know someone looking for a new ride?
Send them this eco-friendly bicycle brands list so they can saddle up sustainably.
Further Reading
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