FishFright
More wheels than sense
Holly necro Batman but I've just seen this and thought of that , nowt new under then sun ?
Self Build Bamboo Bike Frame Kit Build Thread
- Thread starter chriswoody
- Start date
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raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
buzzy-beans
Über Member
- Location
- Woolsthorpe By Colsterworth
Indeed, so do I.
I followed the totally fascinating build programme from start to finish, since when virtually nothing!
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
And me
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
On the subject of bamboo themed songs, XTC's Neon Suffle contains the lines "Gonna run you right through/With a stick of bamboo"
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chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
Thanks everyone again for all of kind posts, as well as the stories and photos of other Bamboo bikes out in the wild. @FishFright indeed there really is nothing new under the sun, Bamboo bikes have been around for over a hundred years now.
I know, I know, I've been rubbish at keeping this up to date! so lets have a go at a long overdue update.
Summer 2018 was the first year I rode the bike and I had some great rides, but something was not quite right and it was bugging me. I just couldn't get comfy on the bike. I was sure the frame size was right, but I just didn't feel right, then one day lost in my thoughts, just enjoying the feeling of riding it struck me what was wrong. The preceding years had seen my riding time and distance drop significantly due to the time pressures of a demanding job and young family and as a result I was overall less fit, the net result? I'd lost core strength and as a result I was slouching on the bike, my posture was awful. For the rest of the ride I really focused on holding myself properly and the difference was noticeable. So this led on to me experimenting with not only the stem height and position, but in maintaining a decent posture and building my core strength back up. So two years down the line the steerer is still not cut down! but I think I've finally nailed the riding position.
So with the reach problem sorted, I really started to enjoy the rides. The bike is really comfy over long distances and a lot of fun. With my new found love of Gravel riding, this bike had become my summer ride only which is perfect. I just love taking it out on days when the roads are dry and the sun is beating down. Overall it's been really reliable, aside from one problem, it's as good as new still. No sign of any stress of cracks in the frame or the joins.
So the one problem? At the end of September, riding home one day the cable stop for the back brake cable let go. No major problem, I used the front brake for the last kilometre. The stop itself is just a small piece of Bamboo resined on to the frame, so I need to look at that. I've two thoughts on making a more permanent fix. Quite possibly, I'll wrap it under a piece of spare hemp and the paint it. I'll document it here though as I go. As I mentioned, the bike is off the road until the weather improves though so no massive rush.
So there we go, finally updated! not much to report really, aside from what a great bike it is and the satisfaction I get from riding something I made myself is immeasurable. The only slight regret and I mean only slight, is that I never made the wheels as well. I will build my own wheels one day, but there are only so many hours in a day.
I know, I know, I've been rubbish at keeping this up to date! so lets have a go at a long overdue update.
Summer 2018 was the first year I rode the bike and I had some great rides, but something was not quite right and it was bugging me. I just couldn't get comfy on the bike. I was sure the frame size was right, but I just didn't feel right, then one day lost in my thoughts, just enjoying the feeling of riding it struck me what was wrong. The preceding years had seen my riding time and distance drop significantly due to the time pressures of a demanding job and young family and as a result I was overall less fit, the net result? I'd lost core strength and as a result I was slouching on the bike, my posture was awful. For the rest of the ride I really focused on holding myself properly and the difference was noticeable. So this led on to me experimenting with not only the stem height and position, but in maintaining a decent posture and building my core strength back up. So two years down the line the steerer is still not cut down! but I think I've finally nailed the riding position.
So with the reach problem sorted, I really started to enjoy the rides. The bike is really comfy over long distances and a lot of fun. With my new found love of Gravel riding, this bike had become my summer ride only which is perfect. I just love taking it out on days when the roads are dry and the sun is beating down. Overall it's been really reliable, aside from one problem, it's as good as new still. No sign of any stress of cracks in the frame or the joins.
So the one problem? At the end of September, riding home one day the cable stop for the back brake cable let go. No major problem, I used the front brake for the last kilometre. The stop itself is just a small piece of Bamboo resined on to the frame, so I need to look at that. I've two thoughts on making a more permanent fix. Quite possibly, I'll wrap it under a piece of spare hemp and the paint it. I'll document it here though as I go. As I mentioned, the bike is off the road until the weather improves though so no massive rush.
So there we go, finally updated! not much to report really, aside from what a great bike it is and the satisfaction I get from riding something I made myself is immeasurable. The only slight regret and I mean only slight, is that I never made the wheels as well. I will build my own wheels one day, but there are only so many hours in a day.
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Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Just had a silly thought...
This is just the thing James Braxton would buy on the Antiques Road Trip. It passes the "Braxton Weight Test" *and* it's bamboo.
slow horse
Well-Known Member
Hope you don't mind me bumping this; I thought it deserved more than a link on the 'Who's got the nicest bike' thread. Thanks for my binge reading this evening. I've got nothing to say that hasn't been said. Just WOW.
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chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
I don't mind at all, thanks for the kind words and glad you enjoyed it.
Veronese68
Regular
- Location
- Home or work
I’ve just finished reading through this, great job you’ve done there, I’m inspired to get back to mine. Good to see how you got round a few of the issues.
Funnily enough, my bottom bracket shell had the same issue, kit was also bought in ‘98 so definitely a batch issue. I made a tap for cleaning the thread using an old BB cup as someone mentioned upthread. Clamped the shell in a vice using a block of wood with a 40mm hole drilled through it and cut in two. I was worried about tyre clearance on the chainstays so had the stupid idea of slicing the bamboo lengthways then bonding it back together, making them oval in cross section hopefully keeping the strength whilst giving more tyre clearance.
My kit is a cyclocross one so it will be geared with a single front chainring and hydraulic discs.
Funnily enough, my bottom bracket shell had the same issue, kit was also bought in ‘98 so definitely a batch issue. I made a tap for cleaning the thread using an old BB cup as someone mentioned upthread. Clamped the shell in a vice using a block of wood with a 40mm hole drilled through it and cut in two. I was worried about tyre clearance on the chainstays so had the stupid idea of slicing the bamboo lengthways then bonding it back together, making them oval in cross section hopefully keeping the strength whilst giving more tyre clearance.
My kit is a cyclocross one so it will be geared with a single front chainring and hydraulic discs.
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chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
I've often pondered about what if I was to do it all again and the tire clearance issue was always on my mind. I think if I needed clearance I would be very tempted to do the same as you. Once the hemp and resin are on there I can't see why it wouldn't be strong enough.
On the subject of Hemp and resin, just a bit of advice from my experience, try to find as wide a tape as you can for the binding. I used quite a thin electrical tape for mine and it sunk into the resin as it set so once I removed it it left quite deep ridges in places, which is why I ended up using far too much filler to smooth it all out. I think if I had used more resin and much wider tape to bind the joints I would have ended up with a better finish from the start.
I would also bind just the dropout end of the stays on one side first and then let it dry to see what kind of finish I had and then try and do the rest changing my technique if necessary. I just steamed ahead with all of it in one go, which was maybe not the best. Also use a sharp pair of dressmakers scissors to cut the hemp, you can see in my pictures, my Hemp after cutting has lots of ragged edges, which again caused issues when it had all cured.
Sounds like it will be a great bike and love the idea of taking a damaged bike and reframing it with a homemade Bamboo frame. As much as I love my bamboo bike, my favourite bike is my steel framed gravel bike with 1x12 SRAM mullet drivetrain, part of me wishes I'd built a Bamboo gravel bike instead!
If you do start work on your again pop some pictures up It would be great to see it.
Veronese68
Regular
- Location
- Home or work
Yes, picked up on your comment about wider tape. My only concern would be that if it doesn’t stretch as easily will it not compress enough making for a weaker joint?
I’ll try to get some pictures up, should probably start a new thread for it when I do.
I’ll try to get some pictures up, should probably start a new thread for it when I do.
