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How to fold an origami bicycle

Fold three paper strips into the frame: a front triangle, a back triangle and the fork with its handlebar. Cut a saddle, fold two big round wheels and glue it all together.

You need: Green strips 1.5 cm wide (26, 16 and 12 cm long), a 3 × 1 cm black piece, two 10 cm black squares, scissors and a glue stick. Hard, 20 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Front triangle: fold in half. Start with a long strip, white side up. Fold it in half the long way, bottom edge up to the top, so it is green on both sides.
  2. Front triangle: turn 1. A third of the way along, fold the rest of the strip back on a slant, making a narrow V. The short part is the seat tube, the long part the down tube.
  3. Front triangle: turn 2. Fold the strip again on a slant so it runs straight back towards the start. The top tube closes the triangle; glue the end on the seat tube.
  4. Back triangle: new sheet. Set the front triangle aside. Take the second long strip, white side up.
  5. Back triangle: fold in half. Fold it in half the long way, just like the first one.
  6. Back triangle: turn 1. Just past the middle, fold the strip back on a sharp slant. It makes a V lying on its side: the back wheel goes in the point.
  7. Fork: new sheet. Set the back triangle aside. Take the short strip, white side up.
  8. Fork: fold in half. Fold it in half the long way.
  9. Fork: turn 1. Near the end, fold the strip down on a slant so a short piece points back. That's the handlebar on top of the fork.
  10. Saddle: new sheet. Set the fork aside. Take the small black rectangle for the saddle.
  11. Saddle: cut the shape. Cut the bottom edge on a slant so the right end is a thin nose, and snip the back corners round. It looks like a little wedge.
  12. Wheel 1: new sheet. Set the saddle aside. Take a big black square, white side up.
  13. Wheel 1: corners in. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  14. Wheel 1: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little, so a small white square shows in the middle. That's the hub.
  15. Wheel 1: round it. Fold the four points of the square a little way behind, so the wheel looks round.
  16. Wheel 2: new sheet. Set the first wheel aside and take the other big black square, white side up.
  17. Wheel 2: corners in. Fold all four corners in to the middle.
  18. Wheel 2: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little for the hub.
  19. Wheel 2: round it. Fold the four points behind to round it off.
  20. Build the bike. Glue the front triangle over the gap between the wheels, the back triangle from its top corner to the back hub, the fork onto the front hub, the saddle on top.

Ring ring!

Draw thin white spokes on the wheels with a gel pen, a chainring with a pedal, and black grips. Ready to ride!

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