Reddit user [tkgarrett101] recently did away with expensive exotic materials for his bike frame and opted for a somewhat less processed form of natural building material, bamboo! The bike consists of a regular metal bike frame with a majority of the structural beams cut and replaced with bamboo poles. The bamboo is fit snug first with some expanding gorilla glue then tied in place with hemp string and fiberglass resin. Instead of running cables along the frame the bike has coaster breaks brakes and a two speed hub, this also preserves the simplistic look of the whole ensemble. [tkgarrett101] says his bike is not so cheap, the overall parts cost was around 800 bucks (USD)! Plus it weighs a whole lot for a fixed gear. Plus the alignment is a bit off on the seat post. Either way this thing would surely turn some heads!
Too rich for your blood? Check out this cardboard bike, or if that green isn’t bright enough for you how about some glowbars for night visibility.
via Reddit
breaks or brakes?
Looks to be a coaster brake from what’s seen in 2 photos.
Cardboard bike is cheaper :P
I’m trying to figure out where the $800 in parts went?
probably the “hemp” and “resin”
What I want to know, other than where the $800 went, is how much would it have cost if a free bike was used. Then the only materials needed would be bamboo, hemp, a respirator, and the fiberglass resin.
Here we go, this was buried deep within the thread:
From user: [Big_Ark]
Frame - 100 (used)
Fork - 80
Rims - 100
Spokes - 60
Front Hub - 60
Rear Hub - 80
Crankset - 150
Seatpost - 40
Handlebars - 60
Tires - 60
Pedals - 30
Chain - 10
Tubes - 10
Tape, glue, resin, rope - 50
So if he had been a little more patient and looked for a $15 used bike with a rusty frame, he could have done the project for about $75.
Yeah but I suppose he is the type of person who would have an 800 dollar bike anyway (note that he works at a bike store).
Lol @Scott, I see what you did there XD
Oh lol, i got it now xD
I wonder if the metal parts could be forged easily to help cut down the cost?
Well, sure – forgeries are always cheaper.
The components alone are a good chunk of the price: $140 wheelset, $40 colored chain, $70 crankset, and so forth, and if those are brass rivets on that seat, that’s $110 right there.
Here are more items done using bamboo http://www.nif.org.in/node/514
Still a lot cheaper than the Flavio Deslandes Bamboo Bike’s you can buy in my country:
http://www.flaviodeslandes.com/bicycles.html
http://www.bambucicleta.com.ar/
These guys in Argentina make bamboo cycle almost 3 years ago !
next time buy a cheapo bike from supermarket, those are around 100€ usually and the components are reasonably quality most of the time
This is not a fixed gear bike. It is a two speed kick back with a coaster brake.
Indeed. For those not familiar, a fixed gear bike has no freehub – you don’t “coast” – when the pedals turn, so does the rear wheel, and vice versa. Used on track bikes, and for confusing bike thieves who aren’t expecting that.
A single-speed is a bike that has one gear ratio, meaning no front or rear derailleur to shift. Simpler, less stuff to break, but limits your top speed or your ability to downshift for steep hills.
A fixed-gear bike is a single-speed, but the reverse is not always true. You can’t have a coaster brake on a fixed-gear.
Sometimes the rear wheel will have another sprocket on the other side and you can pop off the wheel, turn it around, and put it back on to change gears. Or sometimes it’s fixed on one side and a freewheel on the other. That’s a flip-flop rear hub.
The original Bamboo BIkes, http://bamboocycles.com/
Some people in Ecuador been doing this for years and way cheaper. See it here:
http://www.uiomagazine.com/photoreport-bamboo-bicycles-01.html
Might be a bit less hipster-y than a true brakeless fixed-gear, but to me no front brake = no brains. Have fun trying to perform an emergency stop with a coaster brake.
And to think, when I was a kid, all we ever had was coaster brakes. Nobody ever told me, “make sure your crank is always horizontal when you’re coasting, so you can brake quickly”. Got into a wreck because I was coasting with the crank vertical, and no way to apply torque. Worst invention EVER.