Build your own bamboo bike kit
bamboobicycleclub.org
bamboobicycleclub.org
$400 for just some tubes, glue, and dropouts, plus another $800-$2500 for the other parts needed to turn the frame into an actual bicycle, plus however much you value several days of labor, and then from their FAQ...
> How long will a bamboo bike frame last? It’s difficult to say. If you care for your bike as you would for a musical instrument...
Care for your bike like a musical instrument?! They can't be serious. That instrument had better be a steel triangle.
> Are Bamboo Bicycles strong enough? Absolutely! Over the hundreds of bamboo bikes built, they have travelled thousands of miles
Is that 10 miles each? That's not very reassuring.
> If you crash, won’t you get splinters? Likely, yes
Oh fun.
This may lead to a huge side debate, but for a lot of mechanics, the frame is actually the boring part of a bicycle build. Sure it's the centerpiece. Sure does it plane? But there's already a plethora of other issues one needs to address when assembling a bike that building your own frame seems like a misprioritisation of time for novices.
For example: will all the components of the drivetrain you pieced together actually shift well? Are the cranks going to clear the chainstays? Is the headset too tight? Do the brakes bite at the right moment when one pulls the lever? Why do the brakes squeal? Are the wheels properly tensioned and trued?
These details may not matter the first 30 minutes of riding a new bike. But 3 months from now, whether a bike has issues or not depends on attention to these details.
Most local bike co-ops have enough 80s Japanese frames that are still compatible with easily accessible parts that I don't see a strong proposition for building a bamboo frame other than a design gimmick. Steel frames are generally lighter, won't fail catastrophically, and are arguably more elegant.
But to answer your question, if you'd like to build a bicycle frame, I'd look into a class from any of the following:
UBI in Oregon - https://bikeschool.com/
Doug Fattic in Michigan (he has a three-week course) - http://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/Fattic-Doug.htm
One of Doug's students has written a lengthy piece about his experience - https://medium.com/@ben.hudson/framebuilding-with-doug-fatti...
Yamaguchi in Colorado - https://www.yamaguchibike.com/content/School
I’d rather see numbers on that. My cheapo MTB is sure as hell not light. Depending on how much I have to pay for the materials, bamboo one might be lighter and provide higher quality of ride at the same price point (not counting work).
http://waltworks.com/framebuilding-school/
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/Fattic-Doug.htm
It looks like there are plenty of others depending on where you are located:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bicycle+frame+building+course&t=fp...
My impression is that frame building is a highly intensive hobby and a labor of love. The frames become practically heirlooms. Some of the bikes are just stunning. There's a fair amount of specialized equipment involved, and brazing / welding are arts unto themselves.
Perhaps (just my guess) a bamboo bike is less intensive since it's basically glued together, to over-simplify. This might make it a much more accessible project.
A used frame that is mechanically compatible with new (or at least newer) components, and do most of the assembly yourself, at least for the things that only require specialty wrenches instead of something more complex, like a press. If you can strip an older, better bike to the frame, you can clean it up, patch the chips, and put it back together shiny.
If you can't do all of that, then the assembly costs could be higher than a reasonable frame.
Edit: Fished the book out for the ISBN, 978-0071545266.
> $400 for just some tubes, glue, and dropouts, plus another $800-$2500 for the other parts needed to turn the frame into an actual bicycle, plus however much you value several days of labor
$400 is extremely cheap for a bike frame, not to mention a custom one. And the "labor" is a selling point -- this a niche product is for customers who _want_ to build their own frame. The DIY assembly isn't a cost-saving measure like with furniture.
The $800-$2500 is just a catch-all range for the rest of the components. It's doesn't have anything to do with their specific frame.
> Care for your bike like a musical instrument?! They can't be serious. That instrument had better be a steel triangle.
I'm not sure what your issue is with their statement. Regular maintenance is important, and will extend the life of the components. That's true for all bikes. People that spend time & money on a quality bike are willing to maintain them.
> Is that 10 miles each? That's not very reassuring.
I agree with you that their statement doesn't give any indication of the durability of the frame. They should have quoted some kind of actual statistics, either real world or from factory testing.
It's on the low end, but certainly not "extreme". A nice steel frame like Surly or Soma is $500-600. "Extremely cheap" would be something like Huffy that is under $200 for the complete bike.
I keep my musical instruments in padded hard cases, in climate-controlled rooms away from direct sunlight. That kind of treatment is not remotely practical for a bicycle if you're actually using it as a means of transport.
I also keep my best bike (I, er, have several) in the house. i.e. a temperature controlled room.
Sure, but flying is very much an occasional thing; you have to semi-disassemble a bike to put it in a case like that, and generally reckon on having to do a shakedown ride after you've unpacked it (at least I do). Putting it in a box every time would not be practical.
> I also keep my best bike (I, er, have several) in the house. i.e. a temperature controlled room.
That's not unknown but not exactly normal; you must admit having several bikes is pretty extreme in itself. If you're not on the ground floor then knocking the bike against a wall or doorframe on the way in or out is almost inevitable, whereas I certainly wouldn't want to do the same to a musical instrument. I suspect the majority of people who are using a bike as day-to-day transport would keep that bike in, at best, an unheated garage.
I'm not saying that everyone does this, just that treating a bike like a musical instrument isn't that far fetched an idea.
> you must admit having several bikes is pretty extreme in itself.
I'm in a bike club. I know so many people with more than one bike it's not even a joke any more. N+1 and all that.
But you leave it unboxed for 8 hours at the other end, right? I don't think any musician would do that with their instrument.
> I don't own a flight case for it but they exist and don't require disassembly to use.
Sure, because it's a dedicated folding bike. Will this bamboo bike go in a flight case without any disassembly?
Yeah if you want that. BikeBoxAlan have a case you put a bike into and only need to remove the wheels[1].
If you'd discount that because of such minor disassembly you'd have to discount the minor disassembly of putting a flute or Sax in it's box too.
As I said though, you don't have to treat the bike like that but you could easily if you wanted to.
1. https://www.bikeboxalan.com/product/triathlon-easyfit/?v=79c...
I'm sure there are some people whose lifestyle lets them treat a bicycle like a musical instrument. I really don't think most people could do it, not while riding with any real frequency. I count myself lucky that my office has underground bicycle parking (and we're still talking wheel-bender racks next to the A/C exhaust vents). I stand by the statement that a bicycle that needs to be looked after that carefully isn't, by the usual standards of such things, a practical bicycle.
I actually do have bikes that I only take on circular rides because of their value and I baby the hell out of them but that's a false dichotomy.
They are not saying you have to treat these bikes as fragile musical instruments. They're just saying that if you do it will incur less wear and tear.
A carbon fibre bike frame is probably more fragile than a steel one. That limits the number of use cases for carbon but doesn't mean it's not a practical material for different usecases.
As a further example, I have a TT race bike. I keep mine hanging up in the garage an only take it out to races or for circular training rides.
I have a friend that commutes on his TT bike as a form of training. Mine will last longer than his.
Bamboo bikes can be extremely serious bikes.
Calfree (perhaps the best know custom carbon fibre bike manufacture) also builds a bamboo frame[0]
There's no reason why this shouldn't be roughly comparable, if somewhat heavier. The tubes (mostly) just transmit forces to the joints, which are carbon wrapped.
> $400 for just some tubes, glue, and dropouts,
By comparison, the Calfree bamboo frameset is $2795[1].
[0] https://calfeedesign.com/bamboo/
[1] https://calfeedesign.com/calfee-single-frameset-order-form/
I'm glad you put them in there... I've seen bamboo bikes around SB and Scruz for about 25 years. So I'm not surprised Calfee decided to do one.
I do think it's worth pointing out that the Calfee is built by experienced carbon-fiber layup specialists who do this everyday... they use titanium components and almost certainly impregnate the bamboo to offer the 10yr warranty. And total weight 6-7lbs (frame only) is pretty damn light! So 3k for a reliable one of a kind competition bike vs 0.5k for a kit you build yourself and ride carefully for less than a year. You better enjoy building it.
Played percussion in high school band. I have a feeling taking care of a triangle is much more intense than you think it is.
Yes it is, I'll see if I can find a video.
More related to what you're looking for though, I could see an improvised percussion instrument such as this group [0] play would probably fit the bill.
https://invidious.xyz/watch?v=tZ7aYQtIldg
> It's weird seeing this kind of language about a classic utilitarian device that has stood the test of time exactly because it requires very little care or maintenance.
Definitely agree about that.
I've seen bamboo ski poles as well, so perhaps this is a new fad... perhaps we'll see bamboo bike racks, etc etc. Wonder if the waterproofing polyurathane coating they use to treat them before use makes it more or less eco friendly than just using metal materials? Although I guess the metal would be water treated as well.
A friend of mine is strongly into bamboo bikes but rides more casually than I do.
It grows quickly and is very hardy, which is why, for example, in Hong Kong it is used for scaffolding in place of steel. It's light (which speeds up putting together and taking down scaffolding), sustainable and recyclable.
https://www.goldthread2.com/culture/bamboo-scaffolding-why-d...
Although gotta watch out if BobthePanda moves into your building, he might get evicted for eating the walls!
It looks cool and might be a fun project, don't really need any more reason than that IMO. But if you do need more reason, the linked website says:
> Our bikes are built with sustainable materials use a bio-composite and flax fibre.
> Bamboo bikes offer a better ride with natural vibration dampening and durability. They're resistant to stress and therefore suitable for the most challenging environment.
Favorited!
Let's say hypothetically, for whatever reason, all of the metal in a society could no longer be used (hyperinflation, scarcity, factories are shut down, Act of God, Zombie Apocalypse, you're trapped on a desert island, ?) -- OK, so then, the next question then is
What can you make simple forms of transportation out of?
Well, you'd never think that bamboo could be used to create bicycles -- until you saw this article!
So I reiterate, a brilliant idea!