wooden bike



C

[email protected]

Guest
A friend otherwise uninterested in bicycles just emailed me this link
and picture from a right-wing California blog that often features
local bicycle pictures. The caption reads: "And it wasn’t even locked
up."

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pictures/20060703WoodenBike.jpg

He asked if the wooden bike is practical or just a piece of art.

I think that it's a minimally practical piece of woodworking art, but
I'm curious what other posters think of the details.

The blog has comments (mostly drifting off into politics) but I was
intrigued by one poster who wondered if there was a 3-speed hub and
enjoyed another poster who asked, "But where do you put the water
bottle?"

There were also comments about how much it weighs (one poster says
that wooden car frames were heavier than metal), warnings that the
fork might be fragile, complaints that the drive train was not made of
wood, worries that it might be uncomfortable to ride, and a link to
plans for a wooden recumbent:

http://mysite.verizon.net/res88kr1/

I liked the wooden fender. No one suggested a wooden lock.

Carl Fogel
 
Maybe steel is real... but wood is good...

I had grand plans over a decade ago to build a wooden bike frame... but
actually doing it well (using multiple layers of hand laid thin plies)
would have been a lot of work for a still inferior product. Wood has a
good strength to weight ratio, but it is basically just a
unidirectional composite. A frame made of 2x4s could be strong enough
in bending, but relatively poor in torsional strength. In other words
it would be delicate... though perhaps servicable if you are careful
how you use it.
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>A friend otherwise uninterested in bicycles just emailed me this link
> and picture from a right-wing California blog that often features
> local bicycle pictures. The caption reads: "And it wasn't even locked
> up."
>
> http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pictures/20060703WoodenBike.jpg
>
> He asked if the wooden bike is practical or just a piece of art.
>
> I think that it's a minimally practical piece of woodworking art, but
> I'm curious what other posters think of the details.
>
> The blog has comments (mostly drifting off into politics) but I was
> intrigued by one poster who wondered if there was a 3-speed hub and
> enjoyed another poster who asked, "But where do you put the water
> bottle?"
>
> There were also comments about how much it weighs (one poster says
> that wooden car frames were heavier than metal), warnings that the
> fork might be fragile, complaints that the drive train was not made of
> wood, worries that it might be uncomfortable to ride, and a link to
> plans for a wooden recumbent:
>
> http://mysite.verizon.net/res88kr1/
>
> I liked the wooden fender. No one suggested a wooden lock.
>
> Carl Fogel

That is a interesting crusser bike, it looks like a laminated wood structure
too. If you went straight wood non-laminated you would need to use the heavy
wood pieces like 2x4's to keep it stiff enough to work.
There are a couple of others who make bamboo framed bikes as well. Some
ofthese are daily riders for utlility purposes.
Yes you can use wood and it can be reliable as well.
Longevity without regular care and maintenance is problematical though.
You can't leave it outside in the weather.
Wooden recumbent http://www.manytracks.com/recumbent.htm
Great wooden bikes here inclusing some pics of the Italian types
http://www.homestead.com/bikerodnkustom/woodeye.html
bamboo bicycle example here
http://www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralInfoPages/BambooBicycle.html
I wanted to try my hand at a bamboo frame too, but I have not found a way to
get some decent bamboo poles to use yet.
I was thinking about using the frame lugged parts with bamboo instead of
steel tubimg.
 
On Mon, 03 Jul 2006 22:46:32 -0600, [email protected] wrote:

>A friend otherwise uninterested in bicycles just emailed me this link
>and picture from a right-wing California blog that often features
>local bicycle pictures. The caption reads: "And it wasn’t even locked
>up."
>
>http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pictures/20060703WoodenBike.jpg
>
>He asked if the wooden bike is practical or just a piece of art.
>
>I think that it's a minimally practical piece of woodworking art, but
>I'm curious what other posters think of the details.
>
>The blog has comments (mostly drifting off into politics) but I was
>intrigued by one poster who wondered if there was a 3-speed hub and
>enjoyed another poster who asked, "But where do you put the water
>bottle?"
>
>There were also comments about how much it weighs (one poster says
>that wooden car frames were heavier than metal), warnings that the
>fork might be fragile, complaints that the drive train was not made of
>wood, worries that it might be uncomfortable to ride, and a link to
>plans for a wooden recumbent:
>
>http://mysite.verizon.net/res88kr1/
>
>I liked the wooden fender. No one suggested a wooden lock.
>
>Carl Fogel


Sure, a "friend" sent me this link to LGF.

Neat ride. I suspect there's a good bit of metal in there. No telling how far
the sheet that forms the dropouts extends up the fork and stays.

Unfortunately it does not meet UCI requirements.

Ron
 
In article <[email protected]>,
<[email protected]> wrote:

> A friend otherwise uninterested in bicycles just emailed me this link
> and picture from a right-wing California blog that often features
> local bicycle pictures. The caption reads: "And it wasn’t even locked
> up."

<snip>

The wooden bicycle no longer falls within the purview of the custom
order craftsman. Calfee has a bamboo model -- a Carl Fogel type query:
is bamboo technically wood? -- rolling off the production line.
However, at a starting cost of $2,695 USD for the frame alone, it does
carry a custom price tag.

http://www.calfeedesign.com/bamboo.htm


Luke
 
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 12:59:22 -0400, Luke <[email protected]>
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> A friend otherwise uninterested in bicycles just emailed me this link
>> and picture from a right-wing California blog that often features
>> local bicycle pictures. The caption reads: "And it wasn’t even locked
>> up."
>
><snip>
>
>The wooden bicycle no longer falls within the purview of the custom
>order craftsman. Calfee has a bamboo model -- a Carl Fogel type query:
>is bamboo technically wood? -- rolling off the production line.
>However, at a starting cost of $2,695 USD for the frame alone, it does
>carry a custom price tag.
>
>http://www.calfeedesign.com/bamboo.htm
>
>
>Luke

Dear Luke,

Unless my lawn mower is technically a chainsaw, bamboo is not
technically wood--it's a giant grass:

http://www.bamboowholesale.com.au/html/bamboo.html

Cheers,

Carl Fogel
 
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 12:59:22 -0400, Luke <[email protected]>
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> A friend otherwise uninterested in bicycles just emailed me this link
>> and picture from a right-wing California blog that often features
>> local bicycle pictures. The caption reads: "And it wasn’t even locked
>> up."
>
><snip>
>
>The wooden bicycle no longer falls within the purview of the custom
>order craftsman. Calfee has a bamboo model --
>
>http://www.calfeedesign.com/bamboo.htm

Calfee's bamboo-frame bike is a one-at-a-time craftsman product in
fact, so the label still fits, as long as one considers bamboo to be
wood, which I'd allow.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
 
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 11:08:39 -0600, [email protected] wrote:

>Unless my lawn mower is technically a chainsaw, bamboo is not
>technically wood--it's a giant grass:

If you consider a rotary mower to be a power saw with a two-tooth
blade, then what?

Many people cut bread with a saw instead of a knife, but a *sharp*
knife is demonstrably superior.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Dear Luke,
>
> Unless my lawn mower is technically a chainsaw, bamboo is not
> technically wood--it's a giant grass:
>
> http://www.bamboowholesale.com.au/html/bamboo.html
>



"Bamboo is grass (Graminace); if not a separate family of woody
grass-like plants....."

Well times have changed; I remember when grass was smoked not ridden.
In any event, from a botanical standpoint, let the record state that if
one was to get a Calfee, he wouldn't get wood, he'd get woody!

Luke
 
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 17:26:09 GMT, Werehatrack
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 11:08:39 -0600, [email protected] wrote:
>
>>Unless my lawn mower is technically a chainsaw, bamboo is not
>>technically wood--it's a giant grass:
>
>If you consider a rotary mower to be a power saw with a two-tooth
>blade, then what?
>
>Many people cut bread with a saw instead of a knife, but a *sharp*
>knife is demonstrably superior.

Dear Werehatrack,

Then I'm Paul Bunyan every weekend, clear-cutting the short green
forest that my dog uses as a tanning bed.

As for bread, a sharp knife may work well if the crust is soft enough,
but a serrated blade works much better when the crust is a foe worthy
of our steel.

The advantage of serrations is well-known to dentists.

For delicate slicing through skin and hide, the tiny razor-sharp teeth
of the vampire bat are just the thing:

http://www.skullsite.co.uk/Vampire/vampire.htm

(The bat skull is actually only an inch long. The comment that
"reality outruns apprehension" is a nod to Melville's famous
description of Ahab's first appearance in "Moby-****".)

But for the tougher job of briskly butchering large animals, the
highly-modified serrated molars known as carnassial teeth are
preferred by your more discriminating modern mammalian predators:

http://www.paleodirect.com/lm6-003.htm

It's the huge serration of the back teeth that enables a basset hound
to bite through those tough joints on deer and elk legs.

Poor T. rex lacked a proper orthodontist and was forced use simple
scimtar-shaped fangs improved with only the minute serrations still
used by many sharks:

http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/evolution/guide_f.htm

http://www.bhigr.com/store/product.php?productid=51#detailed

On a more prosaic level, anyone who regularly cuts up cardboard boxes
soon learns the advantages of a serrated blade over a well-honed
stiletto. Box-cutters come with so many replaceable straight blades
because they dull quickly. A cheap serrated knife will outlast a dozen
box-cutter blades, but inexpensive foot-long blades come with no
sheaths and waving that much naked steel around tends to cause
suspicious remarks outside the kitchen.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel
 
Werehatrack wrote:
> so the label still fits, as long as one considers bamboo to be
> wood, which I'd allow.

I think a frame made of woven hemp fiber and epoxy could be a good
seller in some circles...

Actually I like the idea of wooden 'bents... they don't have the same
twisting forces as uprights... but at least use a good quality marine
plywood for godsakes!
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...
>A friend otherwise uninterested in bicycles just emailed me this link
>and picture from a right-wing California blog that often features
>local bicycle pictures. The caption reads: "And it wasn’t even locked
>up."
>http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pictures/20060703WoodenBike.jpg
>He asked if the wooden bike is practical or just a piece of art.
>I think that it's a minimally practical piece of woodworking art, but
>I'm curious what other posters think of the details.
>The blog has comments (mostly drifting off into politics) but I was
>intrigued by one poster who wondered if there was a 3-speed hub and
>enjoyed another poster who asked, "But where do you put the water
>bottle?"
>There were also comments about how much it weighs (one poster says
>that wooden car frames were heavier than metal), warnings that the
>fork might be fragile, complaints that the drive train was not made of
>wood, worries that it might be uncomfortable to ride, and a link to
>plans for a wooden recumbent:
>http://mysite.verizon.net/res88kr1/
>I liked the wooden fender. No one suggested a wooden lock.

Hard to tell from the picture. I think if well designed, it probably works
just fine. I know that they sell a kiddie starter bike made out of plywood
and it works well. Calfee also makes a frame with bamboo main tubes.
--------------
Alex
 
[email protected] wrote in news:jrrja25qdbqrif6dj1hds1ta78tgbgjmhd@
4ax.com:

> A friend otherwise uninterested in bicycles just emailed me this link
> and picture from a right-wing California blog that often features
> local bicycle pictures. The caption reads: "And it wasn’t even locked
> up."
>
> http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/pictures/20060703WoodenBike.jpg
>
> He asked if the wooden bike is practical or just a piece of art.
>
> I think that it's a minimally practical piece of woodworking art, but
> I'm curious what other posters think of the details.
>
As someone else noted, there are no helical fibers in the wood, so no
torsional stiffness to speak of, and think about the Vlad the Impaler edges
you'd get after even a minor crash.

Wood also warps, so no long use in normal environments, and you got to get
the grain right to ensure the long range structure is carrying the
stresses.
 
Regular "lumber" is usually composed of softwoods (pine, fir) which
doesn't posses very good tortional strength. If I were to make a wooden
bike, I would use a finer grained hardwood, such as ash, birch or if
weight wasn't an issue, oak. There's a solid reason early shipbuilders
preferred hard to softwoods.

Then again, you could do what I did and cover a lugged frame with a
woodgrain finish...

http://geocities.com/czcorner/photo/california/bnbacl.jpg

http://geocities.com/czcorner/photo/california/bnfrtl.jpg

- -
Comments and opinions compliments of,
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

My web Site:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

To E-mail me:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net
 
Dear Carl:

If you're Paul Bunyan, Then your dog is a great blue ox! ;-3)

- -
Comments and opinions compliments of,
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

My web Site:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

To E-mail me:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net
 
[email protected] wrote:
>
> Box-cutters come with so many replaceable straight blades
> because they dull quickly.

Is it me or is that what we brits call a 'stanly knife'.


--
Andy Morris

AndyAtJinkasDotFreeserve.Co.UK

Love this:
Put an end to Outlook Express's messy quotes
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/



--
Posted via NewsDemon.com - Premium Uncensored Newsgroup Service
------->>>>>>http://www.NewsDemon.com<<<<<<------
Unlimited Access, Anonymous Accounts, Uncensored Broadband Access
 
On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 19:37:04 +0100, "AndyMorris"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>[email protected] wrote:
>>
>> Box-cutters come with so many replaceable straight blades
>> because they dull quickly.
>
>Is it me or is that what we brits call a 'stanly knife'.
>
>
>--
>Andy Morris

Dear Andey,

No, you're not dull. It's a Stanley knife, a utility knife, a
box-cutter, a linoleum knife, and so on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_knife

As the straight-edge blades dull, you just replace them.

Probably sold near to the spanners in what your crowd calls an
ironmonger's shop to further confuse visiting former colonials who are
puzzled to see so many thriving (but dirty) newstands that sell only
the long-defunct Collier's Magazine.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel
 
On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 17:22:36 -0600, [email protected] wrote:

>No, you're not dull. It's a Stanley knife, a utility knife, a
>box-cutter, a linoleum knife, and so on:

Except that the "box cutter" designation is also used to describe a
knife with is made from a flat tube with a sliding single edge razor
blade. Very flat, about 3" long, fits easily in your pocket. Popular
with people who have to cut lots of boxes open in a receiving
department as they can have it handy as needed without carrying a
utility knife but not rigid enough for much more than box cutting -
hence the designation "box cutter".

Carrying a utility knife in your pocket is apt to lead to questions
like "is that a utility knife in your pocket or are you glad to see
me?" (Of course, in my case, they usually ask "Is that a utility knife
in your pocket or did you have penis reduction surgery?")
 
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