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tulsacruiser

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Check this out:http://www.etsy.com/listing/69062925/handmade-bamboo-fixed-gear-bicycle?ref=sr_gallery_13&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=bicycle&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=
 
I saw a comercial a while bike where they had a bamboo bike.checked them out online and it turns out they are pretty pricey.
 
An old friend of mine used to build these for a small company in Virginia as well. They offered steel or titanium lugs. The steel-lugged models were much cheaper than that one though. But they also offered different wheelsets and components which changed the prices as well
 
I have a bamboo bike project in the VERY early stages of development (a project I started after having a few too many cold beverages)...

Essentially I have a $5 garage sale bike I cut up, and some constuction grade bamboo I got from a guy who makes tiki huts.

Yesterday I tried to drill out some of the bamboo & sleeve it over the "nubs" I left of the frame and it just kept cracking.

Looks like I may need a better grade of bamboo.....or some with thinner walls and larger "cavities" inside


bamboobike2-1.jpg
 
pjc5150 said:
I have a bamboo bike project in the VERY early stages of development (a project I started after having a few too many cold beverages)...

Essentially I have a $5 garage sale bike I cut up, and some constuction grade bamboo I got from a guy who makes tiki huts.

Yesterday I tried to drill out some of the bamboo & sleeve it over the "nubs" I left of the frame and it just kept cracking.

Looks like I may need a better grade of bamboo.....or some with thinner walls and larger "cavities" inside


bamboobike2-1.jpg
Click to expand...
Try to find bamboo with a thicker wall. Then run a sharpened metal rod through the length of the bamboo to open it up inside. Then spray foam into the entire rod. This will leave the ends full of removable material so you can make the clearance to place over the nubs. However you will still need lugs of some sort. Plus most bamboo bikes use bamboo for the headtube as well. You can also cap one end of each bamboo rod and fill with cement but it will make the bike heavier. The foam just takes some of the flexibility out giving you a product rigid enough for framework.
 
Are you using general drill bits to make the holes or wood drill bits? Wood drill bits (AKA: lip and spur bits) have a small spike, bladed like a paddle bit to start the hole and then the actual bit diameter starts flat more like a forstner bit.
 
Yeah, this bamboo DOES have thick walls. So thick I had to try drilling them out.

And I have no idea how I would simply "run a sharp rod through it"....that stuff is hard as a rock. If I couldn't drill it out without it cracking, I have no idea how I'd hammed a rod through it without it cracking as well.

Either way, everyone tells me something different. Starting to think this one may end up in the "failure" bin....
 
pjc5150 said:
Yeah, this bamboo DOES have thick walls. So thick I had to try drilling them out.

And I have no idea how I would simply "run a sharp rod through it"....that stuff is hard as a rock. If I couldn't drill it out without it cracking, I have no idea how I'd hammed a rod through it without it cracking as well.

Either way, everyone tells me something different. Starting to think this one may end up in the "failure" bin....
Click to expand...

Before you throw this one to the wayside, consider this, I had a Trek 7000 mountain bike that I beat relentlessly. The aluminum tubes that made up the frame were not welded together and not brazed together, but were put together with some sort of adhesive, albeit a really strong aerospace adhesive, I trusted that bike. Now, if I built a bamboo bike it would be for light cruising and showing off what I had made. Why not sleeve the bamboo into or out of the existing leftover tubes sticking out of your BB and head tube and other parts and use a high strength adhesive to hold them together? It's worth a shot, and I love doing things that other people say won't work just to prove them wrong. haha
 
I see what you mean now. The ends just keep cracking. I thought you meant the bamboo cracked under weight. Some companies fill the cavities with foam, but that is too keep the bamboo from bending in the centers. In your case it may be very difficult to get the bamboo open on the ends to the point where it will fit over the nubs but still be tight enough. That's why bamboo bicycle frames are jointed (or lugged in effect) with something like the sisal twine used above, or leather strapping or "cements" like yoothgeye mentioned.
 
The ad in the original post mentions west systems epoxy, sisal twine, and a 2-part foam, so he seems to be onto the general recipe. You might look up that epoxy.
 
If it is thick wall and "construction grade" and still cracking then your bamboo may be dried out or old or been sitting around for a while. I started growing bamboo and collected some of the larger "culms" from where I dug the root stock. They are amazing when freshly cured (just dried out) but they are a finite material needing sealing to prevail. It's like lumber that when dry enough just starts to flake apart at the grain. I have several very nice pieces for walking sticks that I won't touch because I haven't decided how to seal them and how to bind the ends to keep them from cracking. Other pieces from the same time would splinter if I cracked them over a hard object. When they were fresh I could have pole vaulted with them. Good luck. Bamboo bikes look awesome.
 

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