Carbon fibre is so old hat. 2013’s must-buy Christmas bike is wooden – and comes in a flat pack.

The Sandwichbike is the brainchild of Dutch designer Basten Lejh. Its curious name comes from its construction method: a sandwich of two pieces of weather-coated plywood.

In true Ikea style, the flat pack includes all the tools needed to make the bike – and, indeed, the diagrams have more than a touch of Ikea about them. Assembly is claimed to take just 30 minutes.

The beech plywood comes from a forest just outside the German factory where the bikes are made. Four aluminium ‘smart cylinders’ provide the links between the two halves of the frame and the wheels. Wood might not sound like the most robust of materials, but the designers claim: “Enormous weight was put on the seat, frame and wheels, and the bottom bracket was tested up to 100,000 times, all to simulate a bike’s life on the road.”

A singlespeed bike with a ‘coaster brake’ (pedal backwards to slow it down), it’s intended principally for urban use. It comes in one size, 51cm.

The Sandwichbike costs €799 plus €25 delivery – around £680 at current rates. Find out more at sandwichbikes.com.