These bikes are manufactured and distributed by World Bicycle Relief, and while their model of charity is far from perfect (read here for an article with more info and cool background on African bike culture), the design itself is really intriguing.
For sure it’s a heavy-ass bike, but if you live somewhere relatively flat and don’t need to go very fast (aka an urban downtown area), I can imagine that this thing might be an incredibly useful bike.
No, I don’t buy anything that makes absurd claims. It’s almost always bullshit.
Totally understanding the cynicism, but to read stuff online from people who have actually ridden these bikes they do seem like the real deal, at least in terms of being low maintenance battle tanks.