Want a Bamboo Bike? Build it yourself with the Bamboobee BIY Kit

It is likely not a good idea to employ a rarely used frame material in bike building, to build your first frame, totally without expert supervision or guidance. I am sure that is not a recipe for success. You can easily hit 30+ mph going downhill on a bike. I never experienced frame failure and I never want to contribute to an increase in the probability of experiencing it. I will let the blowhards who are obsessed with being cheap or bragging about their DIY projects have that niche. Maybe if I lived in an area that was almost totally flat like Nassau County in Long Island, New York, again, it could be something I could consider with the difficulty of achieving significant speeds to cause a nasty crash due to frame failure on flat terrain.

Nicholas: I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. People with no prior experience have been building aircraft in their garages for decades. Growing up my neighbor built a Rutan VariEze plane despite having zero experience with composites and that plane has been flying for over 30 years (and at speed a whole lot greater than 30 MPH). He even let me help him laminate some of the surfaces. I’ve also built several paddleboards and kayaks from plans and kits. It’s really not that difficult and West System Epoxy is ridiculously strong stuff – way stronger than anything you can buy at your local Home Depot. Only part I question is the 3 day completion time. You can probably do it in 3 days but it will almost certainly look like crap! With all the kit boards and kayaks I’ve built I find that I spend more time on the finishing than the actual assembly. Cleaning up hardened epoxy is NOT easy. That said, composites are a much more DIY/first-timer friendly option than brazing or TIG welding! I also wouldn’t expect this to be the best riding bike and doubt it would weigh less than a decent steel production bike. Finally, you likely won’t save any money. Anyone who builds a bike or kayak thinking they’re going to save money probably isn’t doing the math. You do this because it’s fun and the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

Although I agree with the safety concerns of Nicholas, I think this would be an interesting rainy day project you might have a little fun with.

This looks like fun! Which is what I think the point of this product is: have fun with a project and at the end have a usable frame. It’s a “cross-country STYLE” bike, not an actual XC mountain bike. Sure, you could hit some fire roads just fine, but you’re not going to be ripping it up off road. It seems this is mostly focused on urban riding, and unless you’re doing urbal “assault” with it…I highly doubt the integrity of the frame will be an issue.

In the end, this is a cool idea, not too expensive, and it looks like a good bit of fun! I’d be eager to try it, and with all the spare parts most of us mountain bikers have lying around in are garages, an rigid SS cruiser could probably be put together for just a few hundred bucks.

Bamboo frames and Ebola are going to kill us all.

I love it! This is truly a great way to share/show your love for cycling. Even if you just build it to hang it on a wall as a great talking point. I don’t think this intended to be used on the race course at all. This is about the core of what cycling is about, affordable transportation and having fun. And for anyone that hasn’t broken a frame yet………you ain’t riding hard enough 🙂 Cheers!

how about a bamboo fork to match, or is that asking for to much catastrophic failure ??

@Nicholas:
It is likely not a good idea to employ a rarely used [food source] in [cooking], to build your first [meal], totally without expert supervision or guidance. I am sure that is not a recipe for success. You can easily get [food poisoning]. I never experienced [food poisoning] and I never want to contribute to an increase in the probability of experiencing it. I will let the blowhards who are obsessed with being cheap or bragging about their DIY projects have that niche. Maybe if I lived in an area that was almost totally flat like Nassau County in Long Island, New York, again, it could be something I could consider with the difficulty of achieving significant [meals] to cause a nasty crash due to frame failure on flat terrain.

😉

@Nicholas:

With regards to home built aircraft the safety record is quite good. There’s this thing called the FAA and they require aircraft to be inspected before being allowed to register and thus fly. Unlike roads, there are very strict rules around flight because planes falling from the sky is considered to be a very bad thing.

As for costs, $169 is just the basic kit. You still need the epoxy and that stuff isn’t cheap (~$50). You’ll also need a fair amount of sandpaper and unless you’re completely unconcerned about aesthetics you’ll need a ton of patience or a power sander. You’ll also want a box of disposable gloves and probably a mask because breathing in epoxy fumes and dried epoxy dust isn’t exactly healthy. Finally, it’s usually recommended to cover the epoxy with schooner varnish to protect from UV degradation ($40 for a quart). Also note this kit doesn’t include a fork so you need to budget for that as well. Realistically, the cost for this is getting pretty close to what a Surly or Soma can be had for and your home built frame will likely not be nearly as nice.

@Nicholas:

It’s a shame that people think that little of their own skills or ability to take on a project such as this. I have no engineering, CAD or composites background whatsoever, but designed and built two carbon frames in my garage. The entire process was fun, frustrating at times and time consuming. I learned an enormous amount along the way, which was the ultimate reward. Just because you don’t think you have the skills, shouldn’t stop you. As for safety, who says a purchased frame is any safer? I’ve cracked a production frame (which was never crashed) but have no material failures with the ones I’ve built, even getting them up to 40mph in the corner on a steep velodrome.

This seems like a great way to get your feet wet with frame building while having some things already worked out. The frame jig, mitered tubes, and geometry are already sorted out and don’t have to be thought through from scratch. No this won’t save you money over going out and buying a production steel frame, but that’s not really the point…

Its a good job Nicholas isn’t in charge of inovation or we’d all be walking still.

I couldn’t resist… My dark brown Brooks Swallow needs a frame so what the hell! With all of my extra parts lying around, this could work but I do hope it turns out solid. As mentioned above, worst case it can become a fine piece of wall art and a source of BSNYC derision!

@ Nicholas

I’ve broken 8 frames in my time as a cyclist, in steel and aluminium, rigid and full suspension. I don’t see how bamboo could be much worse.

I would certainly give it a go. And it’s cheap. With the jig, the problems of alignment should be taken care of as well.

Seems like it could be a fun project, for a town bike, but I’m not sure I’d take it on my local trails.

I don’t see what the issue is with someone wanting to build a kit like this. I know there are those nervous nellies worried about safety at every turn but truthfully if you’re that concerned with safety then you shouldn’t post on a site about a diy moving object Period. I built my own lugged frame bicycle and at the time was 260 lbs. been riding the living hell out of that frame and trust it’s integrity more than my Raleigh lugged frame.

The savings in a diy of this nature is in the labor and experience. By the time you finish this buid you are looking at $400 just for a singlespeed and for that you can get a whole new Trek.

Anyway i have rambled enough either you want to build and ride your own fabricated frame or you don’t (for whatever reason) it’s just that simple but please don’t bash those of us who like building our own stuff and are not scared that we may potentially get hurt in the process!