Anthony Albanese (Prime minister of Australia) came to Indonesia and met President Jokowi. Albanese was welcomed at the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java on Monday, June 6, 2022. During the visit, PM Albanese had several objectives, such as discussing strengthening economic cooperation, cooperation in terms of strategies to overcome climate change, to ensuring the presence of PM Albanese at the G20 Summit. which will take place in Bali.
In welcoming him, Mr. Jokowi invited him to do tree planting activities. Interestingly, after that, Pak Jokowi invited the Australian prime minister for a morning bike ride. They rode a bamboo bicycle and went to the Raasaa Resto located in the Bogor Botanical Gardens. Not only the weather is supportive and friendly for morning cycling, the President of the Republic of Indonesia said that this bicycle is an environmentally friendly vehicle. He also conveyed how important it is to use environmentally friendly vehicles. Apart from these reasons, he also invited Albanese to cycle to Resto Raasaa because it was a route he often took to exercise. More than that, there was an act of diplomacy that was taken because Jokowi apparently offered to PM Albanese to bring the bamboo bicycle he used to Australia home.
Getting the opportunity, PM Albanese himself said he was happy with the offer.
“The president has offered to take me back to Australia, and you will see me riding the only bamboo bike in Canberra,” he said, citing an official statement from the Presidential Secretariat.
Prime Minister Albanese said that Jokowi’s invitation was an extraordinary experience, he considered it a great honor.
“Good morning, it was a wonderful experience and I consider it a great honor that the President invited me to ride his bamboo bike with him to this beautiful place in the botanical garden,” said PM Albanese.
Furthermore, Albanese views that the cycling activity also shows the friendship between Australia and Indonesia. He revealed that Jokowi even offered to bring his bamboo bicycle to Australia.
“The president has offered to take me back to Australia and you will see me riding the only bamboo bike in Canberra. But it was an amazing experience and every time I ride a bike I will remember the friendship with President Widodo,” he said.
The history of bamboo bicycles in Indonesia
The bamboo bicycle was first exhibited on April 26, 1894 and was first patented by Oberg and Andrew Gustafson in 1896. So the bamboo bicycle itself has actually been around for a long time, it’s just getting lost over time because many bicycle manufacturers prefer bamboo bicycles. other materials. make bicycles. The difficulty level of making this bamboo bicycle lies in the process of connecting bamboo with other bicycle components or connecting the connections to the frame. Usually bamboo material is joined using epoxy resin, carbon fiber or also with iron or steel joints.
Well, in Indonesia, which has a tropical climate, it is very suitable for the growth of bamboo plants, in fact there are many types of bamboo with the ability to grow bamboo which is quite fast, so it can be said that the supply of bamboo raw materials in Indonesia is very abundant. That’s what makes creators in Indonesia take advantage of this situation, one of which is Spedagi.
facts about the bamboo bicycle that Jokowi and PM Albanese use
Interestingly, the bicycle in question is a bamboo bicycle designed for use on the road, and is the work of Singgih S. Kartono. Singgih himself is the owner of a bicycle manufacturing business called Spedagi, which comes from Temanggung Regency, Central Java
Previously, many might have known that Indonesia is indeed the home of various bicycle brands whose products are worldwide. Some of them call it Polygon, United, Wimcycle, Pacific, and Element. But not only that, apparently there is another brand that presents a bicycle with an extra environmentally friendly concept, because the frame is made using materials that come from nature, namely the Spedagi bamboo bicycle.
Having a meaning behind it, the naming of Spedagi apparently comes from the word “morning bicycle”, a cycling activity that Singgih did before presenting bamboo bicycle products. Singgih, who graduated from the Design and Product Department of the ITB FSRD, basically has more attention to village empowerment and sustainable principles.
At first, Singgih was amazed by the bamboo bicycle by Craig Calfee from the USA. Not only made of bamboo, the bicycle is also made by hand-crafted methods. Realizing that Indonesia itself has abundant resources of bamboo trees and traditional skills in the form of handicrafts, he was finally moved to present similar innovations.
The development of the Spedagi design was initially started in 2013, then at the end of 2014 production activities started along with continuous improvements in terms of design and production processes.
Continuing to grow and its products reach various countries, Spedagi bamboo bicycles have already paved the streets of Australia, Japan, to France. This form of bicycle has received recognition from various award events, one of which is the Good Design Award by the Asean-Japan Center in 2017.
Discussing in more detail, the bamboo bicycle from Spedagi is basically made of bamboo type bamboo betung (Dendrocalamus asper). Betung bamboo itself is known as a type of bamboo that has a large stem circumference, another type is also considered strong and abundant in a number of rural areas.
It is explained that bamboo betung has a sturdy structure and can withstand loads of up to 75 kilograms or more. In fact, the Spedagi bamboo bike has passed the Jakarta-Madiun ride test with a distance of 750 kilometers, with a total load of 90 kilograms and without any damage.
At first glance, bamboo betung is usually only sold in logs with a maximum price of Rp. 50 thousand. But in the right hands like Singgih, the value of these bamboo logs can increase rapidly after being converted into bicycles at a price of millions of rupiah per unit. The bamboo used in making the bicycle itself basically comes from the village in his hometown of Temanggung. The bamboo bicycle is expected to become a social movement. Singgih wants people to be more concerned with the state of a village with good and great potential for development.
It was revealed that until now, 95 percent of the products produced by Singgih and its employees who come from rural areas, are exported to the United States, Brazil, almost all European countries, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, to New Zealand. Meanwhile, the other 5 percent are sold in big cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta and Bali.
Variant Spedagi / Bamboo Bike
Spedagi is available in several design options, namely Spedagi Dwiguna (dual track) designed for those of you who cycle on highways and rough rural tracks, Spedagi Dalanrata (road bike) for those of you who cycle smoothly on long tracks of highways, Spedagi Gowesmulyo (joy bike) and Spedagi Rodacilik (minivelo) which both use small diameter tires that are practical and comfortable for urban use. The four options are marketed at different prices, starting from Rp. 3.5 million.
Interestingly, the Spedagi bamboo bike even passed the Jakarta – Madiun ride test with a distance of 750 km, with a total load of 90 kg, and without any damage.
Well, Spedagi is also not only pedaled in Indonesia. This product from Temanggung has penetrated into various countries such as Japan and France. In addition, Spedagi also received awards from various parties, did not meet from abroad. One of them in 2017, he was awarded the Good Design Award from the Asean-Japan Center.
