Bamboo Bike Frames
- Thread starter BeachyKeen
- Start date
I know a pretty good craftsman who could carve a bike like this out of a bigger bike.Weed said:
That sounds like a really good idea. They do look cool. Lighter maybe. Teak would be stronger I guess. I haven't been on one or even seen one but I'd like to. Seems like the green thing to do. Less metal and plastic parts.
Bamboo is a trend. Smooth and comfortable ride. I wonder if the frame being bamboo actually feels that way or if it's just a marketing technique from wikipedia. They first came out with them in 1894. Oh, yeah it says that they are eco-friendly. Says that they are vibration dampening, whatever that means. I guess smoother. It would absorb because of the bamboo. This is interesting.
Ok now here we go this affordable bamboo company says: strong as steel, light like aluminum, and stiff like carbon yet more reliable. Bamboo is super fast growing and never killed when harvested. (unlike trees) Well now the same company is saying stronger than steel.
I'm digging this bamboo. A ton of things can actually be made from it. It is from the evergreen and grass family. You can eat it raw. Cut it to eat and it just grows right back up out of the ground. It actually does amazing things for the ground. Stops soil erosion, huge purification, and oxygen. Stores water for the forest that it resides in and gradually releases it in to the soil.
Alright I'm convinced, Lol. I'm going to grow some in the back yard here and build my own bike from a bamboo bike class.
Bamboo is a trend. Smooth and comfortable ride. I wonder if the frame being bamboo actually feels that way or if it's just a marketing technique from wikipedia. They first came out with them in 1894. Oh, yeah it says that they are eco-friendly. Says that they are vibration dampening, whatever that means. I guess smoother. It would absorb because of the bamboo. This is interesting.
Ok now here we go this affordable bamboo company says: strong as steel, light like aluminum, and stiff like carbon yet more reliable. Bamboo is super fast growing and never killed when harvested. (unlike trees) Well now the same company is saying stronger than steel.
I'm digging this bamboo. A ton of things can actually be made from it. It is from the evergreen and grass family. You can eat it raw. Cut it to eat and it just grows right back up out of the ground. It actually does amazing things for the ground. Stops soil erosion, huge purification, and oxygen. Stores water for the forest that it resides in and gradually releases it in to the soil.
Alright I'm convinced, Lol. I'm going to grow some in the back yard here and build my own bike from a bamboo bike class.
There're plenty on CL. And in thriftstones. Or yardsales. One needs to be vigilant, though.ambition said:
I turned my 80s Fujitsu Del Rey into a fixed conversion. By far my favorite bike. If wanting gearage I've got plenty of others.
There are lots of doubts regarding bamboo as a building material. It is thin, hollow and doesn't seem to withstand high impact. Furthermore, it is vulnerable to insect attacks and the weather elements. For these reasons, I wouldn't be surprised why most people wouldn't trade a bamboo bike over their steel bikes.
While I don't own a bamboo bike, I do know that there are treatments done on bamboo to make it more durable. Common methods are generally classified into:
a) chemical treatments
b) non-chemical treatments
A classic non-chemical bamboo treatment is submerging bamboo poles in seawater. Salt has long been known as an anti-septic and preservative. The key in this treatment is proper drying and storing. Making sure that the bamboo is dried well prior to storage prevents degradation.
Bamboo can withstand high pressure provided that they are harvested at the right age and treated well. Perhaps you've heard about the bamboo houses in Bali, Indonesia which look like this:
Source: http://www.boredpanda.com/sustainable-bamboo-houses-elora-hardy-ibuku/
Of course the application are different. Houses may not be subjected to as much wear and tear as bikes. But looking at this structure does make you think about all that weight that a bundle of this grass species can provide. As the world shifts into greener materials I guess, bamboo bikes are worth considering.
While I don't own a bamboo bike, I do know that there are treatments done on bamboo to make it more durable. Common methods are generally classified into:
a) chemical treatments
b) non-chemical treatments
A classic non-chemical bamboo treatment is submerging bamboo poles in seawater. Salt has long been known as an anti-septic and preservative. The key in this treatment is proper drying and storing. Making sure that the bamboo is dried well prior to storage prevents degradation.
Bamboo can withstand high pressure provided that they are harvested at the right age and treated well. Perhaps you've heard about the bamboo houses in Bali, Indonesia which look like this:
Source: http://www.boredpanda.com/sustainable-bamboo-houses-elora-hardy-ibuku/
Of course the application are different. Houses may not be subjected to as much wear and tear as bikes. But looking at this structure does make you think about all that weight that a bundle of this grass species can provide. As the world shifts into greener materials I guess, bamboo bikes are worth considering.
There's a place near my hometown that makes all sorts of crazy bikes out of really unique materials, and as awesome as they are my reaction is always kind of the same. They just don't seem like they'd be practical for daily use, and I don't think they'd stay looking so nice for very long either if they were being ridden a lot.
If you can afford it though and are passionate about cycling there's no reason not to get something a little unconventional like this. It would be be fun to ride around town and I'm sure it would be a conversation starter.
If you can afford it though and are passionate about cycling there's no reason not to get something a little unconventional like this. It would be be fun to ride around town and I'm sure it would be a conversation starter.
There was a fellow who used to park next to me at UCLA. he had a custom made Bamboo single speed. He said he loved it and it felt solid, but I can't speak from first hand experience.
It sounds neat but strikes me as something that wouldn't be very sturdy. I'd have to do more research into it. I didn't know you could do this.
I know that bamboo is versatile and fairly robust. It's often used to make furniture and even small houses. I've never ridden a bike that was made from bamboo, but I'd definitely would want to try. Now, whether I'd like to own a bamboo bike, I really don't know. Aesthetically, a bamboo bike may look interesting but not pleasing. I also wonder about the practicalities of such a bike.
