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?

unterhausen

Calfee also posted how to build a carbon frame, but it's gone now. Much more tempting for me.

Canaboo

That's cool if you want to feel that way. The construction is exactly the same as one of their tow wrapped carbon bikes though..

As far as marketing pufffery, you could say the same for any frame material.

You might change your mind if you try one.

guy153

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.

seibaatgung

Is it actually more or less springy than steel?

Canaboo

Springy by actual specs or how it 'feels" when ridden? That's going to vary somewhat based on bamboo type and diameter.

seibaatgung

both

Canaboo

It rides quite similar,

JonnyHK 

A few companies or projects have come and gone.

I really like the look of the new pre-made lugs here.

seibaatgung

Pretty sure calfee is still selling

blowindian

I can confirmed that.

It's quite comfortable and ride smooth. It's not a fast bike, but it can go fast. The one I borrow from a friend for test ride have a lot of flex. It's very noticeable when it went 35kph up. I pushed until around 45kph and it start to wobble.

I was curious about bamboo bike when I saw two cyclist ride it on 1000km brevet earlier this year. Turn up they also ride this bike on PBP 2019.

This one have a treated and laminated bamboo tubing. I think it still can be improved because the problem is more in the geometry and joints. And yes, it's heavy. This one is about 12 kg.

P.S.: Sorry, can not post photo here because I am new. Need more 9 posts before I can post a photo.

seibaatgung

please return then.

unterhausen

upload pictures to an album in your gallery and let us know. We can post them here for you. Don't forget to click the "upload" button in the upper right hand corner of the dialog box

blowindian

Thanks.
Done.

unterhausen

Pic assist

andyinabox

Why is this misguided? I'm not really that interested in bamboo bikes but this is definitely the one thing that would make me interested. I know the sustainability of bamboo is a little overblown, but I'd imagine it's better than the alternative options for bike frames. Esp for people that get into bikes as a more eco-friendly form of transportation, it makes a lot of sense to look into something like bamboo.

unterhausen

Welcome to the forum.
I think steel and aluminum are quite possibly more sustainable and imo make better bikes. There isn't any good data, so it's a matter of conjecture and opinion.
You are welcome to keep your own, I'm not going to try to persuade you otherwise.

andyinabox

Guess I came in a little hot as somebody new to the forum, but seems worth discussing since it answers OP's original question. What makes a "good" bike is definitely subjective, but there's plenty of data out there on the sustainability of materials if you're willing to wade through it. I don't have any expertise in this but everything I've seen seems to indicate that both steel and aluminum production have a huge environmental impact, even when recycled. Titanium seems to be even worse, and there's a ton of waste in carbon fiber production because it can't be easily recycled.

On the other hand bamboo has a few things going for it -- it's good at turning CO2 into O2, grows quickly and can be harvested without too much impact on the landscape. But then most of the bamboo you see (at least in the US) is shipped from China which is not so great, and it can become an invasive species. And like any crop, growing it in large quantities tends to lead to less eco-friendly agricultural practices.

But I can imagine if I were coming at this primarily motivated by environmental concerns, I might see the potential in bamboo and maybe want to figure out how to make better bikes out of it.

unterhausen

Making bikes from bamboo is more accessible for a lot of people and probably a good gateway into making bikes from other materials. Making a ridable bike from materials is fun, even if the bike is made from ramen noodles. The answer to the OP's question is "because they can." Pretty simple really. Most of us do things that might not hold up well under scrutiny from a lot of people, but bamboo frames are somewhat visible and not the norm so people feel free to be critical. Like why do I make frames when I could probably do better just getting what I want from someone else for less money and effort? Well, the answer to that is "what's it to you?"

OTOH, this thread shows that materials wars are contentious and contain a lot of noise and conjecture while contributing nothing of value. This forum is about making bike frames, but people feel free to dump their own personal hobby horses in here from time to time. We like to celebrate anyone that makes the effort to make a frame, no matter what the material. Navel gazing that's not in the service of making a frame is tolerated, but not particularly welcomed.