Mountain bike made of bamboo
The only problem for most of us is that its $2700. Not exactly budget friendly in these times, but its the future now. The company, Calfee Design, is working to improve their production process. For instance, it wants to grow the bamboo stalks in the right size for the bike frame components. That way they can go directly assembled into the bike. It would be like having “a factory in the field.”
Bamboo is underrated and none as a “poor man’s timber”. But in actuality it has a greater tensile strength (resistance to being pulled apart) than steel. It can withstand compression better than concrete too. Bamboo grows up to 60 feet tall and it has the same width from bottom to top. As a result all the compression strength is needed to hold its own weight and tensile strength to bend in the wind without breaking.
Calfee Design who started making bikes with carbon fiber is gambling bamboo will be the next hot bike material. Its eco friendly as bamboo grows fast like a weed and can easily be sustainably harvested.
Calfee Design is also working with the people of Ghana to help them grow their own bamboo bikes! Perhaps if we give them the knowledge then they can mass produce them for the masses and make them affordable for everyone! The project is called the Village Bicycle Project (VBP). Training on construction, repair, and maintenance is given to Ghanans. The metal components are derived from used bike parts in Ghana.
See Calfee Design
October 1st, 2008 at 9:24 am |
This is one of the most crazy products I have seen recently.
My friend is a product manager for a byke Producer, I will certainly forward this as an idea to him.
Just instead of water bottle, they should assemble a fire bottle
Literature Response
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am |
[…] to hop a curb, light enough to get me all over town. Why oh why should i suddenly be coveting a Mountain Bike made of Bamboo? I have fought and clawed to erase the last decade of questionable fiscal policy from my monthly […]
October 6th, 2008 at 2:53 am |
Hi,
Nice to come across this blog and the new product made of bamboo is good and also cool.But I hope it’s life time must be less then the normal one. Great job.
October 6th, 2008 at 8:07 am |
Wow nice, this is what I call really going green. It is heartening to see people come up with stuff like these.
Thanks a lot for sharing this, I will pass the links.
October 7th, 2008 at 2:39 am |
It is my first time to see such bike.It is creative.But i am worried about the safety.
October 9th, 2008 at 10:39 pm |
Does the bamboo make it more durable? I know that bamboo is really tough.
October 10th, 2008 at 3:32 am |
But there would be problems with overweight people right? I think this is something that should be encouraged though.
October 13th, 2008 at 6:22 am |
thank you for sharing
October 15th, 2008 at 5:19 am |
Sounds a ghood idea, but no suggestion of how to join these bamboo pieces together and the safety implications involved. I know I wouldn’t want my child riding these until I knew their safty record, enviromently friendly or not.
My conservatory bamboo chairs comes to mind, where th strapping always seems to give way.
October 16th, 2008 at 1:18 pm |
This is really crazy product
October 18th, 2008 at 11:32 am |
That bike looks sturdy, i wanna try it.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:23 pm |
A bamboo bike is exactly what my weird bike collection needs thanks. But I dont think it will beat my pocket bike.
November 11th, 2008 at 3:21 am |
I knew their safty record, enviromently friendly or not.
November 11th, 2008 at 3:23 am |
I know that bamboo is really tough.
November 11th, 2008 at 3:24 am |
It is heartening to see people come up with stuff like these.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:52 am |
I sometimes feel like it excludes a whole group of people that would love to do good for the environment but cannot afford to buy the real expensive stuff.