Calfee Design, known for using alternative materials, didn’t disappoint at NAHBS this year. The now standard bamboo and carbon fiber bikes were present, along with a mountain bike made from a tree branch that feel during a storm. The branch came from a Douglas Fir. The joints are made from a pounded bark cloth sourced from a Ficus. A lefty fork and NuVinci 360 hub round out the build. Craig Calfee built this up for personal use, and has been using it off road with no issues.
Also in the booth was a 650B wheeled Drangonfly Double Disc Adventure bike, a bamboo roadie with a hidden Campy EPS battery, and an S & S coupled time trail tandem rocket ship. All of these, plus images of the wood bike on the other side.
The folks at Calfee Design, in an effort to get larger tires on the Drangonfly, tried out a set of 650B wheels. The end result is clearance for up 42mm tire (or up to 35mm tire on a 700c rim). The BB height changed less than 10mm, and the bike rides and handles almost the same as it does with a 700c wheel and more narrow tire. The addition of disc brakes and a tweaked geometry makes this one a great gravel grinder.
The Calfee Barstem now has the option to integrate a K Edge Garmin mount into the bar.
This monster tubed bamboo roadie is a prototype for a new model Calfee Design will be showing off at Sea Otter later this year. The final model will be made of carbon fiber. The bike holds a special trick up its downtube. A campy EPS battery has been disassembled, and the charging part and cells are reconfigured into a package that is hidden in the downtube.
Just park your bike next to an outlet to juice up the internal battery.
The cable stops have been integrated into the joints.
Calfee keeps it classy and fancy with EE Cycle brakes.
Winning Best Tandem at NAHBS this year was Calfee Design’s TT Tandem rocket ship complete with custom one off S & S couplers.
Bamboo bike with Look ZED 2 crankset and Praxis rings… Nice touch.
@Brandon – Thank you for the added details. I meant to include those in the description. That is one HOT crankset.
Check your notes Mr. Burklow, the 650b tires on the Dragonfly sure look like Grand Bois Hetre tread, and those are wider than 35mm.
@Werkin – good catch. Those are a 42mm tire. The 35mm tires will clear when mounted on a 700c rim. Thanks.
well these guys truly push the envelope in the bike industry……well done!
The heading called it a Time “TRAIL” bike. I assume it meant Time TRIAL. Watch those typos! Also the bottom bracket on it looks like an exotic version of an Ashtabula crank.
on the tandem, those are Lightning cranks. they join in the middle. the Look Zed crank is truly an exotic Ashtabula though.
I try and I try but I cannot appreciate the look of these bikes. The technology is super cool but ughhh… jeeze… But hey, just my opinion.
Bamboo? Birch? What is the point of all this nonsense again?
I found a desiccated cow pat out riding the other day, should I try and fashion it into a chainring?
bb30, bb92, bb386evo? what is the point of any nonsense in the bike industry? it is awesome… doing things that havent been done before is inspiring and intriguing. personally, the aesthetics alone do it for me… these things are BEAUTIFUL
XCgeek- 3D printing and disc brakes on road bikes and elimination of derailleurs is exciting progress for me. Taking inappropriate materials and forcing their use in place of more appropriate materials does not excite me. JMHO.
Nash- I found a large cow femur laying on the trail yesterday. Should I mill it down and fashion a seatpost/seat combo from it. I could redefine getting “boned” 🙂
Douglas fir seems to be a sweet spot. It offers a much softer ride than bamboo and doesn’t have the flexiness of cedar. Still, I’m going to have to wait for the ash and hemlock long term reviews.
Only a stress test can convince me to use these frames. Santa Cruz, Scott, GT, Specilaized have convinced us with carbon. All of them + others with 6061 alu T6 etc…, but bamboo ??? can it handle a 2 meter dropppp ??? Show us a stress test video.
Chase Jiannalone_ definitely!