Originally Posted by
Nessism
I think a lot of guy like the idea of making a frame, but the cost and complexity of welding/brazing, and difficulties with fixturing, makes it prohibitive. Working with bamboo, which is a lot like woodworking, is considerably less intimidating though. And credit to Calfee on his simple PVC jig and youtube instruction guide, which further brings the project down to earth so to speak. Factor in the novelty of owning a bamboo frame too. If well constructed they seem to last a reasonable period of time so why not?
Agree. The stoke of riding a frame you made yourself far exceeds any actual differences in the performance of the materials. Bamboo opens this up to more people. It's also actually a pretty good material (but given the choice I do much prefer steel personally).
A friend of mine made one and sadly it did fall apart due to weathering after a few years.