These Guys Are Turning Dead Cars Into Living Bikes

Normally, seeing a video'd junkyard crammed full of hulks of vintage Citroëns and Fiat 600s makes me want to hop on a plane and save each and every one of them like some soft-hearted kook at the animal shelter. That's generally not possible, but what these folks over at Lola Madrid are doing with these basket-case cars is actually pretty cool: they're turning them into bicycles.

I've always believed that junkyard cars are lousy with all manner of interesting parts that can lead to next lives as other interesting things. And cars are certainly full of good bicycle parts. The Bicycled people say they're getting almost everything from the car itself. I love the idea of using the transmission belt instead of a traditional bike drive chain (can any bike-oriented people tell me why belts aren't used as often in bikes?), and repurposing lighting equipment makes sense (though I think a red lens would be better for the rear), and, of course, remaking bike seats from upholstery parts is cool; I'm wondering if some cars' headrests may work as a bike seat without much modification.

They show making the frame out of metal tubing from the car, though I'm not exactly sure where they're getting all that (presumably) hollow tubing. I wouldn't mind seeing this even taken a step further, and using temporary donut spares for the wheels. 

I'm so taken by this idea that I've updated my will to state that after my death, my body should be remade into two dogs, a cat, and half a dozen hamsters.

(Thanks, Leo!)