UpCycle: Luxembourgish Founder Brings Sustainable Cargo Bikes To Europe

When lockdown hit in 2020, most people stayed home. Not Luxembourger Stéphane Pekala Colles, who hit the streets of Berlin—on a cargo bike. With friends, he delivered food to those in need via Tafel e.V., planting the seed for UpCycle, a sustainable cargo bike venture that’s turning heads.

Drawing on Berlin’s street creativity, Colles began building Alternative#1, a prototype cargobike made from scrap. Since then, he and his team have built several bikes from donated bicycle parts, broken skateboards, steel rebars and 3D printed…