Roestug

From abandoned bikes to new rides and upcycled goods

Roestug rescues abandoned, broken and “orphan” bikes from across Zwolle and turns them into new circular creations, from high-quality Frankenstein Bikes to belts, lamps and clever accessories. With a workshop full of rust, tools, plastic scraps and ideas flying around, they prove that bike waste can be a playground for creativity.
Broken bicycle parts before upcycling and the finished Roestug bike and accessories after. Broken bicycle parts before upcycling and the finished Roestug bike and accessories after | Waste Alchemists
Portrait of Bram, Gerke and Hermen from Roestug in their circular bike workshop | Waste Alchemists

About the alchemists

Roestug was founded by three wonderfully unconventional makers: Bram, the bike-repairing social scientist; Gerke, the industrial-designing DJ; and Hermen, the politically active marketer studying environmental science. Together, they saw the absurd number of abandoned bikes piling up around them and decided to fix the system, piece by piece. Their workspace feels like a lab for circular experiments, where fun, teamwork and dirty hands come standard.
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Pile of abandoned bicycles, worn tires and discarded bike parts collected by Roestug | Waste Alchemists

About the waste

The Netherlands has more bicycles than people, and that also means an enormous flow of abandoned, broken, and discarded bikes. Think: rusted frames, snapped chains, bent luggage racks, punctured tires, loose components and lost accessories. These “weesfietsen” (orphan bikes) often sit for months before being collected, and most end up as scrap metal or mixed waste. Roestug steps in right there, saving everything they can and treating each part as a raw material waiting for another life.

About the process

The process begins with sourcing bikes: bought in bulk, collected from municipalities, or donated by locals. Every bike goes through a quality check. From there, two paths appear: 1) Frankenstein Bikes, combining the best parts of multiple abandoned bikes into one high-quality circular ride. 2) Stripping, salvaging materials piece by piece: tires, chains, frames, racks, plastic components. Anything still usable becomes part of repairs or new products. Everything else is recycled properly. Their workshop is a hands-on space full of tinkering, testing, improvising and learning exactly how circular creativity should feel.
Roestug team dismantling a bike and selecting usable parts for circular rebuilding | Waste Alchemists
Finished Roestug Frankenstein Bike and upcycled accessories made from bike waste | Waste Alchemists

About their creations

Roestug’s creations go far beyond bicycles. They craft: Frankenstein Bikes made from multiple abandoned bikes, Belts from old tires, Lamps made from bent luggage racks (bagagedragers) with bio-based plastic add-ons, Carabiner keychains, plastic-upcycled accessories & more. They also run weekly workshops on upcycling, recycling and bike repair, teaching people how to make something circular with their own hands.

Happy accidents as their superpower

Roestug’s favourite “creation moments” often come from the unexpected. Once, while repairing a bike rack, they realised the bent luggage rack actually looked better as a lamp, and suddenly a whole new product was born. It’s a perfect example of their philosophy: trust the process, play with what you find, and let creativity lead the way. That spirit is why working with them feels less like a company… and more like joining a group of friends building a resource efficient future together.
A team member of Roestug being playful at their workshop showing that transforming waste is fun | Waste Alchemists

Products they alchemised

tired_of_new_keychain_roestug

Keychain

from Bike Tires

Roestug

 6,95

keychain_roestug

Keychain

from Bike Chains

Roestug

 6,95

keychain_carabiner_roestug

Carabiner

from Shampoo Packaging Waste

Roestug

 9,95

rebike_desklamp_roestug

Desk Lamp

from Broken Bikes

Roestug

 59,00

wallhooks_roestug

Wall Hooks

from Packaging Waste

Roestug

 9,95

Their upcoming events

This alchemist is currently not organising any events...

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