Tree Climbing Bike: A Genius Invention Born Out Of A Need

You’ve probably heard of the saying, “Necessity is the mother of all inventions.” It’s true. “Needs” drive humans to invent things which help make their lives easier and more convenient. Shervin Maben of Shimoga, Karnataka is one such curious mind and inventor of the “Tree-Bike.” A contraption he made to help local farmers climb tall arecanut trees, and honestly, it’s genius!

When we first saw the video it looked a bit gimmicky, but then if you think about the possible practical uses of this tree-bike, it’s astonishingly useful. Most of us love coconut water and the sweet malai inside, no? We love it so much because we don’t physically have to climb 40-50 feet of tree to go get them. The ones who do have to work super hard everyday to fetch fresh coconuts from multiple trees. Imagine how simple their lives will become, imagine how fast that process will be with one of these.

By mechanising the process, you’re also looking at making it more efficient and cost effective. It’s pure economics. The Tree-Bike uses a simple 52cc two-stroke motor which makes roughly 3PS and the whole contraption weighs just 48 kilos, which is lighter than our lightest correspondent, Nishaad (67kg). But, it has the strength to carry one Jehan (nearly 100 kilos) and a 10-litre bottle of water up a tree with its 110kg load-carrying capacity. 

The first prototype was developed to climb arecanut trees, but Shervin’s newest version can scale coconut and palm trees as well. We have been told that it costs Rs 1.12 lakh to make one of these, which seems a bit expensive, but with the right help and investment can be made cheaper. Sharks, are you listening?