Why are people making bikes out of Bamboo

DonDaddyD

Why? Is it natures wonder material? What is the fascination?

always_tyred

DonDaddyD wrote:

Why? Is it natures wonder material? What is the fascination?

It is straight and hollow and some people think it looks nice.

asprilla

Why not?

It's low cost (or could be), sustainable and is capable. People build all manner of things out of bamboo, so why not bikes?

I just want one so I can see if it's any good.

iPete

I could ask the same question as to why people ride bikes without gears or brakes these days? *runs*

Basically they get publicity at shows, bring in the crowds, get people talking (this), give that modern eco-touch, sustainable materials etc etc.

greg66_tri_v2.0

DonDaddyD wrote:

Why? Is it natures wonder material? What is the fascination?

They want to be chased by pandas.

mantaray

They want to be chased by pandas.

That's silly. Pandas are slow and lethargic. A panda couldn't chase someone on a bike.

Tut.

lae

Presumably because it works quite well. And because of fashion.

I want a bicycle made from bone. Lighter and stronger than carbon fibre?

Kieran_Burns

Just remember to not leave the bike in standing in a field - or else when you come back, your 56cm frame will be a 60cm one

pintoo

The spin says that it is nature’s wonder material. It is fast growing, strong and flexible. It doesn’t rust and is very light. It requires no mining, smelting or other such environmentally unfriendly practices. However, there are some issues which need to be addressed before its green credentials are fully realized. The inability to weld it also means that joints need to be bound and reinforced with other technologies (all of which are still in their early stages) and its organic nature means that each bike is unique – something which QA departments struggle with since what any decent company wants is to know the engineering tolerances of their products. The tolerances have to be wider with bamboo.

All of that said – it’s freaking cool. I would love a bamboo bike! I have some bamboo fibre t-shirts and they are as good as any technical tee – and a lot cheaper.

spen666

mantaray wrote:

They want to be chased by pandas.

That's silly. Pandas are slow and lethargic. A panda couldn't chase someone on a bike.

Tut.

I'm sure it could, if you taught the Panda how to ride properly, give it some tips on aerodynamics etc

Pross

Why make a bike out of steel / aluminium / Ti / Carbon etc.? The properties of bamboo are apparently ideal for the job.

DonDaddyD

Pross wrote:

Why make a bike out of steel / aluminium / Ti / Carbon etc.? The properties of bamboo are apparently ideal for the job.

how are they ideal?

akcc05

I worked with a professor a few years ago who had a side project that focused on the nanostructural properties of bamboo after different treatment. He said, with the right treatment, it could potentially be better than the highest grade carbon fibre in terms of it's engineering properties, i.e. weight, modulus etc. No idea why they use it on bikes now though.

I myself worked on bone regeneration and if you ask me, I reckon within a 100 years time, self regenerating materials could be used for stuff like airplane wings, car chassis and even bicycles frames. Something like bone, it's actually pretty amazing, it's strong, light, stiff in the direction it needs to be, and it can repair itself when it cracks/damaged, why can't we make materials like that? It's simple, not much different from wood, just natural stuff evolved over many thousands of years.

il_principe

To be fair to Calfee, they do have some rather charitable aims.

nicklouse

It is not like using Bamboo in bikes is new though.

Biomega have been at it for years.

http://www.biomega.dk/biomega.aspx

but it is also shaft drive.

Gussio

I had a bowl made from bamboo. It delaminated and fell apart when washed....

Pross

Sounds like carbon in the rain

teticio

mantaray wrote:

They want to be chased by pandas.

That's silly. Pandas are slow and lethargic. A panda couldn't chase someone on a bike.

Tut.

i have a mind to report you to the RSPCA for discrimination against minority animals. the average running speed of a panda is 17mph which would give a few people a good run for their money http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Average_running_speed_of_panda

teticio

akcc05 wrote:

I worked with a professor a few years ago who had a side project that focused on the nanostructural properties of bamboo after different treatment. He said, with the right treatment, it could potentially be better than the highest grade carbon fibre in terms of it's engineering properties, i.e. weight, modulus etc. No idea why they use it on bikes now though.

I myself worked on bone regeneration and if you ask me, I reckon within a 100 years time, self regenerating materials could be used for stuff like airplane wings, car chassis and even bicycles frames. Something like bone, it's actually pretty amazing, it's strong, light, stiff in the direction it needs to be, and it can repair itself when it cracks/damaged, why can't we make materials like that? It's simple, not much different from wood, just natural stuff evolved over many thousands of years.

what a cool idea... it'd be a bit freaky riding a bike that was "alive" and that you had to feed a glass of milk every night before going to bed.

UndercoverElephant

I'll bite, DDD. I am indeed making a bike out of Bamboo. Why? Well, why not? I'm one of these people who when people say I can't do something, I do it.

The bamboo I'm using is closely related to Meso bamboo, which is used as scaffolding poles in Asia. It has a lot of benefits over steel for scaffolding which transfer over to bikes. Firstly it's very strong (stronger than steel for a given weight), but has better flexibility and crash resistance than carbon. All in all, it a very good material to use. Plus I get to custom design the frame to my specifications and dimensions.

I've bought steel lugs to glue the bamboo into, and will wrap areas of the bamboo in carbon fibre if it need extra strength. I expect to do this on the seat/chain stays and around the bottom bracket.

My entire steel/carbon/bamboo track frame should weigh in at around 1.3 KGs. Roughly the same as a Kuota Kharma. Except mine's a custom build and has cost me about £50 for the lugset and dropouts.

Gussio

teticio wrote:

akcc05 wrote:

I worked with a professor a few years ago who had a side project that focused on the nanostructural properties of bamboo after different treatment. He said, with the right treatment, it could potentially be better than the highest grade carbon fibre in terms of it's engineering properties, i.e. weight, modulus etc. No idea why they use it on bikes now though.

I myself worked on bone regeneration and if you ask me, I reckon within a 100 years time, self regenerating materials could be used for stuff like airplane wings, car chassis and even bicycles frames. Something like bone, it's actually pretty amazing, it's strong, light, stiff in the direction it needs to be, and it can repair itself when it cracks/damaged, why can't we make materials like that? It's simple, not much different from wood, just natural stuff evolved over many thousands of years.

what a cool idea... it'd be a bit freaky riding a bike that was "alive" and that you had to feed a glass of milk every night before going to bed.

A bike that is alive might turn its own pedals.....

UndercoverElephant

Just to add, the ride on a bamboo bike is meant to be like nothing else. Almost silent, the perfect SCR weapon.

:twisted: