This is so dope. But.. really? People are thinking it would break? Must be those who dont know Bamboo is incredibly strong. Incredibly. Here in america, we use steel to build huge scaffolding racks multiple stories high for guys to work on buildings. In ASIA, they build these out of bamboo. The fact that it CAN flex slightly, makes it stronger. If your someone who is scared of buying a carbon frame for fear of breakage, get a bamboo. You'll break an Alloy, a Steel and a Carbon frame ten times over before you break a bamboo bike. (And you probably never would have broken any of the other three frames either)
The reason why the fork juddered while breaking is most likely to be because the headset wasn't tightened enough. Did you try tightening it up during the test? Every bike I've ever ridden has suffered from the headset being lose at one point or another.
When building them can you design them into a road/cyclocross frame based on width of the fork and angle of tubing? Can you design them for cantilevers? What is the bamboos longevity, do they survive as long as chromoly?
A friend did the course and has an old school road bike one of these. I work in engineering and they appear plenty strong enough. Who is gonna do a full sus one then? Now that would be something.
Wisteria Berlitz I was thinking the same thing; it'd be great to have a bamboo hybrid to commute on or get groceries with. Wonder if you can mount rack and fender eyelets on them.
☝️🧐 testing bamboo frames on a dirt jumper is not the best way to understand the strength of bamboo. The tube lengths on a dirt jumper are shorter which is going to make the overall frame stronger. For example, an extra large mountain bike frame tube will be longer and much more vulnerable to cracks. Therefore testing a bamboo frame on an extra large mountain bike would be the best case model.
Paul Liptrott hemp is not stiff enough to build an entire bike that's why bikes are not made from fiberglass even though it's stronger than carbon fiber carbon is stiffer
+WK95 Bamboo as a building material is abundant, fully renewable, does not have to be mined, easy to work, uses less energy in the frame construction, can be built by amateurs and is compostable and so highly likely to be a lot more environmentally friendly. Plus they're still pretty unique. Other than that, there is no actual performance reason. Yes they're a soft comfy "steel" type ride but that's personal taste.I don't honestly notice the difference between it and my Zaskar! But then my Zaskar does have "triple triangle technology"!
-me 1) Aluminium is way more abundant than bamboo by several orders of magnitude, as it's the third most abundant element on the Earth's crust. Iron, the main component of steel, is the fourth most abundant element on the Earth's crust. 2) Between 1.5 and 2 kg of metal need to be mined to make an aluminium frame. By comparison, several tons of metal were mined to make the steel beams in the house where you live. Add another ton or two if you own a car. 3) Aluminium is 100% recyclable. 4) The energy needed to smelt the aluminium needed for a bicycle frame is a tiny fraction of your annual energy consumption, especially if you live in a Western country. 5) If the aluminium used to build your frame comes from recycling rather than aluminium ore, then the energy needed to produce it is 5% of the energy you would need to smelt it, that is, a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction of your annual energy consumption. 6) Modern alloys are very fatigue resistant, which means if you don't do anything stupid to it, an aluminium frame will probably last you a lifetime. 7) An aluminium frame is lighter and stiffer. 8) An aluminium frame is cheaper. A good-quality aluminium frame can be manufactured for less than £50. Planet X is selling framesets (aluminium frame + carbon fork) for £100 at the moment. 9) A frame is only about 25% of the total weight of a bicycle. The remaining 75% is going to be either metal or carbon, that is, the same materials you would normally use to build a frame. In summary, bamboo frames are for 1) dumb hippies who think they are being environmental or 2) hipsters.
+bellavista7 Many people seem to miss the point. The Bamboo Bike Club does not build frames/bikes for anyone. You go on one of their courses and build the bike for yourself. It's an experience and the frame finish is as good as the participant wants to make it. You can walk away with a frame which looks a bit like bamboo glued together with brown parcel tape or an old sack; or you can spend 100s of hours in your garage finishing it to a level where they look like a sucked-sweet-carbon spaceship. I don't have a workshop so mine is closer to the parcel tape!
Thanks for the reasonable reply. I think what's more the problem is that the Bike Radar didn't get the point. I spoke to the Bamboo Bike Club owner about this review . He said that the wobble in the headset could have been tighten with an allen key there was no integral problem with the frame - it was a standard loose headset. Bike radar reviewed it as a product from the BBC. So I suppose it was the bamboo bike club's owner's fault for being naive. He just asked the guy on the course who built if if he wouldn't mind allowing Bike Radar to review it and then handed it over. BBC should have given it a proper going over before submitting it for review.
This is so dope.
But.. really? People are thinking it would break? Must be those who dont know Bamboo is incredibly strong. Incredibly. Here in america, we use steel to build huge scaffolding racks multiple stories high for guys to work on buildings. In ASIA, they build these out of bamboo. The fact that it CAN flex slightly, makes it stronger.
If your someone who is scared of buying a carbon frame for fear of breakage, get a bamboo. You'll break an Alloy, a Steel and a Carbon frame ten times over before you break a bamboo bike. (And you probably never would have broken any of the other three frames either)
The reason why the fork juddered while breaking is most likely to be because the headset wasn't tightened enough.
Did you try tightening it up during the test?
Every bike I've ever ridden has suffered from the headset being lose at one point or another.
here in the Philippines. we do have bamboo bikes too :)
pay the real guys who make this with quality
When building them can you design them into a road/cyclocross frame based on width of the fork and angle of tubing? Can you design them for cantilevers? What is the bamboos longevity, do they survive as long as chromoly?
They look so cool
Very well presented, thanks.
About the fork flexing... I have a GT Grade Alloy, and duh, the discs bend it too.
A friend did the course and has an old school road bike one of these. I work in engineering and they appear plenty strong enough. Who is gonna do a full sus one then? Now that would be something.
And predictably, all the weenies start chiming in about how the bikes are dangerous... lol...
would make an awesome urban/everyday bike
Wisteria Berlitz Heavy, flexible, disposable. Crap bike.
wow, so salty
Wisteria Berlitz I was thinking the same thing; it'd be great to have a bamboo hybrid to commute on or get groceries with. Wonder if you can mount rack and fender eyelets on them.
Hey, Do you think the Bamboo Frame would a good idea for SS Hardtail MTB? Love your vids
oh nooo please take off the front derailleur sticker!!
I want a bamboo Enduro bike:)))) should make for a comfy bike because bamboo bends
if you want to keep things affordable and earth friendly, i'd recommend fixing up an old steel road bike at your local bike coop
im getting one!
Bamboo and zip ties, hipster death trap.
☝️🧐 testing bamboo frames on a dirt jumper is not the best way to understand the strength of bamboo. The tube lengths on a dirt jumper are shorter which is going to make the overall frame stronger. For example, an extra large mountain bike frame tube will be longer and much more vulnerable to cracks. Therefore testing a bamboo frame on an extra large mountain bike would be the best case model.
What's the point? It's gotta have about the same amount of steel aluminum and carbon as a regular bike. Just costs more and weighs more.
cool :p
Moral story: buy fucking titanium mate
Wondering why nobody has made a bike out of hemp and resin to mould?
Paul Liptrott and also wondering if bamboo bicycle club was a band
Paul Liptrott hemp is not stiff enough to build an entire bike that's why bikes are not made from fiberglass even though it's stronger than carbon fiber carbon is stiffer
黒竹で作ったらかっこいいかも。
And the practical benefit over carbon or alloys is what exactly?
+WK95
Bamboo as a building material is abundant, fully renewable, does not have to be mined, easy to work, uses less energy in the frame construction, can be built by amateurs and is compostable and so highly likely to be a lot more environmentally friendly.
Plus they're still pretty unique.
Other than that, there is no actual performance reason. Yes they're a soft comfy "steel" type ride but that's personal taste.I don't honestly notice the difference between it and my Zaskar! But then my Zaskar does have "triple triangle technology"!
-me
1) Aluminium is way more abundant than bamboo by several orders of magnitude, as it's the third most abundant element on the Earth's crust. Iron, the main component of steel, is the fourth most abundant element on the Earth's crust.
2) Between 1.5 and 2 kg of metal need to be mined to make an aluminium frame. By comparison, several tons of metal were mined to make the steel beams in the house where you live. Add another ton or two if you own a car.
3) Aluminium is 100% recyclable.
4) The energy needed to smelt the aluminium needed for a bicycle frame is a tiny fraction of your annual energy consumption, especially if you live in a Western country.
5) If the aluminium used to build your frame comes from recycling rather than aluminium ore, then the energy needed to produce it is 5% of the energy you would need to smelt it, that is, a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction of your annual energy consumption.
6) Modern alloys are very fatigue resistant, which means if you don't do anything stupid to it, an aluminium frame will probably last you a lifetime.
7) An aluminium frame is lighter and stiffer.
8) An aluminium frame is cheaper. A good-quality aluminium frame can be manufactured for less than £50. Planet X is selling framesets (aluminium frame + carbon fork) for £100 at the moment.
9) A frame is only about 25% of the total weight of a bicycle. The remaining 75% is going to be either metal or carbon, that is, the same materials you would normally use to build a frame.
In summary, bamboo frames are for
1) dumb hippies who think they are being environmental or
2) hipsters.
I think you would loose alot energy through the bamboo flexing
you can buy aged bamboo or flame / heat hardened if you want it harder with very less fle
i made a straw bike.
erm - bamboo is not wood.
What is it then?
@@Nouveau0 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo
Jesus the setup on that bike is bad, what happened to the saddle angle?
these might not be the best bamboo road bikes available.
+bellavista7 Many people seem to miss the point. The Bamboo Bike Club does not build frames/bikes for anyone. You go on one of their courses and build the bike for yourself. It's an experience and the frame finish is as good as the participant wants to make it. You can walk away with a frame which looks a bit like bamboo glued together with brown parcel tape or an old sack; or you can spend 100s of hours in your garage finishing it to a level where they look like a sucked-sweet-carbon spaceship.
I don't have a workshop so mine is closer to the parcel tape!
well what can I say. I did miss the point.
didn't know this was a DIY project... that's pretty cool.
apologies.
Thanks for the reasonable reply.
I think what's more the problem is that the Bike Radar didn't get the point. I spoke to the Bamboo Bike Club owner about this review . He said that the wobble in the headset could have been tighten with an allen key there was no integral problem with the frame - it was a standard loose headset. Bike radar reviewed it as a product from the BBC.
So I suppose it was the bamboo bike club's owner's fault for being naive. He just asked the guy on the course who built if if he wouldn't mind allowing Bike Radar to review it and then handed it over. BBC should have given it a proper going over before submitting it for review.
do not buy this, it's so bad