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bamboo bike

by protheroe1
Wed, Dec 07, 2011 09:08
10

hi my name is david,i am new to this forum for anyone interested i build bamboo road frames(these will be fully EN safety tested) anyone who has not seen a bamboo road bike please google boo bamboo bike or calfree bamboo bike,i hope to have my frame/bike hopefully reviewed on this site if i am lucky enough, the build at the moment is kinlin XR300 wheelset, microshift arsis groupset,trigon carbon forks handlebars seat post and stem,velo senso miles 1200 saddle,TRP 970SL OR FSA energy brakes,FSA team issue carbon crank,tha main reason for posting this is if anyone is interested in learning more about the ride of a bamboo frame i would be happy to post any info,i would like to open a workshop for people to build their own frames but at the moment bank funding is not forthcoming,hope i have not rambled to much and i hope to post some pics soon,anyone interested please e-mail me at 01stimpressions [at] googlemail.com or i can be contacted on 01322 279804

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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10 comments

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protheroe1 | 13 years ago
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hemp bast fibres are not that easily available in the uk,you would probably have to look to france or belgium,i am waiting on some flax samples and may be able to supply you in the near future,my e-mail is 01stimpressions [at] googlemail.com

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Cooks | 13 years ago
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http://ukbamboosupplies.com/html/bamboo_poles.html

Iv'e found tow, but it seems dead prohibitive pricewise. Ive also looked into hempo but am struggling to find somewhere to get it from. If anyone has any ideas on that front I'd be welcome.

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protheroe1 | 13 years ago
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Hi good to see other people interested in the use of bamboo,the cost of carbon tow can be prohibitive,there are a few companies that sell small amounts,carr reinforcements,carbonology,easycomposites,carbonlite.co.uk,are a few,you could try hemp/flax bast fibres as calfee does,i have not tried this yet but the principle is the same,i am waiting on some flax fibre samples from belgium,if i can be of any other help let me know thanks david.

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Cooks | 13 years ago
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Im toying with the idea of building one myself, but am struggling to find carbon fibre tow at decent lengths at a not-too-prohibitve price. Any ideas?

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mr-andrew replied to Cooks | 13 years ago
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Cooks wrote:

Im toying with the idea of building one myself, but am struggling to find carbon fibre tow at decent lengths at a not-too-prohibitve price. Any ideas?

I've also been looking into a building a frame, but am having difficulty sourcing the Bamboo. Any else got ideas there? There are a few tow suppliers that I've found. Also check eBay.

www.bucks-composites.com
www.carbonology.com
www.easycomposites.co.uk

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arrieredupeleton | 13 years ago
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It's 'Calfee' not 'Calfree'.

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Gkam84 | 13 years ago
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There is no doubt that companies make big mark up's on bikes, i would say none more than road bike manufacture's

Another link to have a look at would be http://www.bamboobike.org/Home.html They run course's in New York (i think) on how to build a bamboo bike and once build it gets sent to Africa

One other thing, Are you making the whole frame from bamboo or using lugs and other things from a normal frame?

Just wondered because this frame caught my eye and i thought i would ride one of those just because its different, not for any other reason

http://www.calfeedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Calfee-Bamboo-Pro...

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protheroe1 replied to Gkam84 | 13 years ago
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hi thanks for your reply the best way to manufacture the frames is to use ali or ti bb, dropouts and head tube the the bamboo tubes are then mitred tacked and then wrapped in either carbon as boo bikes do or calfree uses hemp,i am sourcing uk grown bamboo,i have also sourced a low petroleum based epoxy resin,i also intend experimenting with the hemp/flax to wrap the joints,i built a frame about 3 years ago but my interest was awoken when seeing a boo bike in a magazine,its a very long process to even get to where i am,sourcing components to build a cost effective bike has been one of the hardest things,i have a test frame nearly completed which intend to have ridden as hard as possible the next step is to get frames saftey certificated but as i said previously its not really about the money aspect more about the build process and hopefully getting more people riding bikes and from this point of view bamboo frames/bikes have a curosity value

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protheroe1 | 13 years ago
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Thank you for the feed back i agree that not all frames and frame materials suit all people,i think the positive thing about bamboo is the enviromental aspects but also most people with a little know how can build one even to a high standard,maybe the bike you rode was not the right geometry for you,bamboo is not radicaly different to other materials,this is not about making money as the bmx bikes i built was not about money just highlighting the huge profits bicycle companies/brands make at the expense of the paying public,bamboo frame building is a learning curve like any other manufacturing process,how good i am is down to the people that i hope will ride one of my frames,i appreciate the feedback and links

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Gkam84 | 13 years ago
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As much as i understand the "Greenness" of riding a bamboo bike, Its not for me at all, I've seen them and ridden one, just didn't like it

But i would suggest, as show by The Bicycle Academy http://www.thebicycleacademy.org

Crowd funding can work if you have a product which people want or are interested in

This is their's for frame building http://www.peoplefund.it/the-bicycle-academy/

Also, is this just another way to try and make some cash like your BMX idea? Building bikes this way is never going to make you money unless your really really good at it, you might make a bit here and there though to top up your printing machine's 3 26

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