Weird & Wonderful !

So, you’ve scourged all your local bike stores looking for something a bit different. Something that just says ‘you’.

Most bikes are aluminium; there’s a couple of old-school steel bikes you could get your hands on if you tried really hard. You’ve seen that exotic titanium bike in the store you’ll never support, and everybody has a variety of extravagant carbon bikes (if only your chequebook could handle the amount of zero's attached to the price tag!)

We’ve gone and looked at green alternatives and found something you could grow in your backyard. Herewith our findings in the wonderful world of wooden-, cane- and bamboo bikes.

It's not all new! The 1st patented bamboo bike stems (pardon the pun) from an English patent (No 8274 of April 26,1894), and was on display at the Stanley show  (London) of 1894. A Milwaukee (USA) based outfit also produced what they called a 'fishing pole' bamboo bike around 1897.

In all fairness, the bicycle was first thought of in wood. A hundred (or more) years ago you could buy a bike of hickory, elm or even bamboo. Most of these manufacturers collapsed, however, with some investors claiming to have been ‘bamboozled’.

These days - with recreational and commute biking gaining popularity against the backdrop of rocketing fuel prices at the oil-age's afterparty - the option of a bamboo bike is future-retro appealing, as it seems to be exceptionally eco friendly (having a very low carbon footprint). Bamboo is claimed to be longitudinally stronger than steel (per weight), is very light and comes standard with remarkable vibration dampening abilities.

It is a sustainable, natural product, and contributes more oxygen than an equal size stand of trees. It (generally) matures withn 6-8 years, but can be selectively harvested after 1 year. The use of bamboo in bicycle - frames tends to use far less energy than the manufacturing of titanium, steel, aluminum or even carbon fibre. Add to the above bamboo’s ability to be mended with superglue, its obvious cost advantages, and it just might be the stuff of the future! 

DID YOU KNOW?

• Bamboo is the fastest growing plant (grass) (on earth, that is).
• Steel, aluminium and titanium frames all require high levels of energy from extraction to extrusion, before being suitable for manufacture. Carbon fibre also requires a lot of energy in its oxidation, carbonization and graphitization. With minimal treatment - a curing process to strengthen it - however, bamboo is ready to be used for bicycle-frame manufacture.
• Bamboo groves generate substantially more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees.
• In wood the strongest fibres are packed in the centre of the trunk, however, in bamboo the stems are full of cavities and the strongest fibres are distributed most densely in the outer surface region. As a consequence wood bends more easily than bamboo!
• Janka Hardness is a test that measures the pounds of force it takes to drive a .44” diameter steel ball 1/2 its depth into wood. Strand-woven bamboo have been found to be second hardest (after Brazilian Walnut) on comparison (various teak/s, cherry, bloodwood, rosewood, chestnut, gum, maples, mahoganies, cypress, & ash, etc were compared).

These bikes are certainly clever; some even works of art. 'Ingenious' can also be used to describe some of them. Are  they to be taken seriously? Perhaps not. Or, perhaps not yet. But then again, it does make a compelling carbon-footprint argument, and you never know…

The Bambicletta from Flavio Deslandes, (a Brazillian in Copenhagen) an industrial designer from the PUC-Rio University.

"Building these bicycles is art. It is not something you just do. Every bamboo must be selected and fitted into the frame according to size and quality. The secret lies in treating and handling the material the right way. Learning the required maintenance takes time: just like it takes time to learn how to play football.”

Flavio is reported to be working towards bamboo wheels & cranks, even as you read this!

Brano Merez’s ‘BME’ bamboo & carbon mtb is in its 3rd year of being tested, and still going strong. A work of art, with custom carbon lugs and - seat. Now; do you have one in a 24"?

An old-school (1890's) bamboo framed commuter. 

                  
Craig Calfee’s impressive bamboo & hemp bike range is worthy of serious consideration. A well known master of carbon fibre having branched out into bamboo, applies his bamboo know-how in the Ghanain 'Bamboo Bike Project', in collaboration with The Earth Institute of Columbia University (USA). Respect.

An Italian, hardwood work of art by furniture maker & cycling enthusiast Vinicio Magni.

Cane, and able.

The JANO wooden concept bike. Notice that i) the hollow within the frame houses a storage pack, ii)the bike‘s transmission is rear hub based, and iii) transmission is belt-driven, whilst iv) lights are incorporated within the saddle post and steerer'tube’.

A hardwood & carbon-stayed Renovo masterpiece, with exceptional attention to detail in the classic racer style.

Ross Lovegroove’s “Biomega” bamboo bike, featuring a chainless drive and discbrakes.

 A German, construction-site looking wooden bike, that  just might have real potential of becoming a volkswa.....eh.. volksfiets?

Hardwood for hardcore funriders.

Time trialling track-style, on a hard-wooded work of art.

Baron von Drais would be proud of this pushbike for his gardens!

Would you be able to resist not mounting this ride? Discbrakes and Brooks Saddles...

 
A full-sized wooden bike, spotted and snapped in Hungary - apparently - but of which little (read "nothing") is known.

What do you think? The future, right here, right now?