????最近，以色列發(fā)明家伊扎爾?加夫尼宣布，他的新產(chǎn)品，一種紙板自行車(chē)，將以20美元的價(jià)格面向消費(fèi)者銷(xiāo)售。我們很難判斷到底哪個(gè)訊息更令人印象深刻，到底是一種完全是由回收的紙板和汽車(chē)輪胎制造的自行車(chē)，還是它超低的價(jià)格。然而，當(dāng)這種全新兩輪車(chē)的制造商紙板科技公司（Cardboard Technologies）上周在集資平臺(tái)Indiegogo啟動(dòng)眾籌活動(dòng)，試圖籌集資金以實(shí)現(xiàn)批量生產(chǎn)時(shí)，捐助者們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一件有點(diǎn)讓人摸不著頭腦的事情：自行車(chē)的標(biāo)價(jià)竟然高達(dá)290美元。這樣一個(gè)非常有前途、被全美刊物廣泛報(bào)道的創(chuàng)意碰到了意外的障礙。

????雖然這場(chǎng)眾籌活動(dòng)目前只進(jìn)行了一個(gè)星期，但紙板自行車(chē)項(xiàng)目?jī)H籌集了2.4萬(wàn)美元，與高達(dá)200萬(wàn)美元的籌資目標(biāo)相距甚遠(yuǎn)。截止7月1日，5,000輛要價(jià)290美元的紙板自行車(chē)僅售出了24輛。周二，紙板科技公司將自行車(chē)的售價(jià)下調(diào)至135美元（95美元加40美元運(yùn)費(fèi)），以回應(yīng)捐助者的質(zhì)疑（又或許是希望能夠改變捐助者人數(shù)寥寥的局面）。紙板科技公司CEO尼姆羅德?艾爾米什表示，自行車(chē)的價(jià)格波動(dòng)幅度最終取決于市場(chǎng)，舊金山等大城市的消費(fèi)者需要花費(fèi)更多資金，而在第三世界，這款自行車(chē)則是免費(fèi)的。他補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“我們希望創(chuàng)造一種讓所有人都可以獲得這種紙板自行車(chē)的社會(huì)化商業(yè)模式。標(biāo)簽上體現(xiàn)的不是價(jià)格，而是這款自行車(chē)的價(jià)值?！?/p>

????這家公司將向那些已經(jīng)掏了290美元購(gòu)買(mǎi)自行車(chē)的捐助者退還差價(jià)，或者再贈(zèng)送給他們兩輛紙板自行車(chē)。

????艾爾米什聲稱，無(wú)論Indiegogo上的眾籌活動(dòng)順利與否，一批投資者都將提供自行車(chē)大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)所需的資金，其中包括建造一家工廠和生產(chǎn)線的計(jì)劃。從本質(zhì)上講，這意味著如果這場(chǎng)眾籌活動(dòng)以失敗告終，領(lǐng)投的Timberland公司前CEO杰夫?斯沃茨以及其他幾位身份不明的投資者將提供必要的生產(chǎn)資金。如果說(shuō)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目其實(shí)并不缺資金，那么為什么還要發(fā)動(dòng)消費(fèi)者捐贈(zèng)呢？艾爾米什說(shuō)：“我們希望給大家一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，讓大家能夠加入我們的行列，參與這個(gè)項(xiàng)目?！?/p>

????紙板自行車(chē)背后的技術(shù)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不是這么簡(jiǎn)單。質(zhì)疑者對(duì)加夫尼說(shuō)，這種自行車(chē)根本就造不出來(lái)，這種態(tài)度反而激勵(lì)了他。這款自行車(chē)的大多數(shù)部件完全是由回收的紙板制造而成——據(jù)艾爾米什透露，這個(gè)比例高達(dá)95%。它意味著，紙板自行車(chē)非常輕盈（不到27磅，約12公斤）。但通過(guò)折疊和粘合紙板以增加其強(qiáng)度，加夫尼創(chuàng)造出了一款能夠承受一位體重275磅（約125公斤）的乘客的產(chǎn)品。Indiegogo網(wǎng)站上的眾籌活動(dòng)頁(yè)面顯示，紙板自行車(chē)的輪胎是用回收的汽車(chē)輪胎做的，“絕對(duì)不會(huì)被刺破?！边@種自行車(chē)還能夠防水，防火——對(duì)于一種基本上是用紙制造的產(chǎn)品來(lái)說(shuō)，這種功能是必須具備的必不可少。

????When Israeli inventor Izhar Gafni announced that his new product, a cardboard bicycle, would be available for $20 to consumers, it was hard to determine which was more impressive—a bike made completely of recycled cardboard and car tires, or the rock bottom price. But when Cardboard Technologies, the company behind the new two-wheeler, launched their Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign last week to raise money for the bike's mass production, donors were met with a bit of a head scratcher: the bike was listed at $290. The promising idea, which has been featured in national publications across the United States, hit a snag.

????The campaign is only one week old, but the cardboard bike has raised a mere $24,000 out of a $2 million funding goal. Of the 5,000 cardboard bikes up for sale at the $290 asking price, only 24 had been purchased by July 1. On Tuesday, Cardboard Technologies responded to the donors (or lack thereof) by lowering the bike's cost to $135 ($95 plus a $40 shipping charge). Cardboard Technologies CEO Nimrod Elmish says the price of the bike will eventually fluctuate depending on the market, costing more for consumers in cities like San Francisco and costing nothing in third world countries. "We want to bring a social business model that will make [the cardboard bike] available to all," he added. "We don't have a price tag, we have a value tag."

????The company is offering to refund the price difference to donors who already purchased a bike at the $290 price tag, or provide them with two additional cardboard bikes.

????Regardless of how the Indiegogo campaign shapes out, Elmish says he has investors lined up to finance the mass production of the bikes which includes plans for a factory and production line. Essentially this means that lead investor and former Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz, along with a handful of other unidentified investors, will provide the necessary funding should the Indiegogo campaign fail. So why would anyone donate if their funds are not actually needed? "We wanted to give people the chance to join us and be part of [the project]," says Elmish.

????The technology behind a bike made of cardboard is far from simple, and Gafni was motivated by doubters who told him it couldn't be done. The majority of the bike's features—95% of them according to Elmish—are made entirely of recycled cardboard, meaning the bike is light (less than 27 pounds). But by folding and gluing the cardboard to increase its strength, Gafni created a product capable of holding a 275-pound passenger. The bike tires are made of recycled car tires and "will never get a puncture," according to the bike's Indiegogo campaign page. The device is also waterproof and fireproof, a necessity when your product is essentially made of paper.