Originally Posted by
oldfool
I like it. I'm doing a front rack and looking for ideas. Maybe in bamboo.
Good idea. The hardest thing to decide is how to attach it to the bike... the mount points ought to be metal if they are going to last. As you see, I have used angle steel for attachment at the axle (it is also providing support for the future panniers, but that is secondary). If you are working with bamboo, you might consider fabricating a round bracket that will allow the round bamboo to slide in, instead of attaching the bamboo directly to the bike which would create a localized stress and end up splitting the bamboo down the grain. Likewise, pay extra attention to ALL your stress points - think about which directions your cargo weight will try to shift, and adjust your geometry accordingly. It's definitely been a rewarding project, and I get lots of double-takes.