bamboo bike...

Will this frame work with my Hammerschmidt crankset?





J/K This is cool beyond description. Nice job Adam! Cant wait to see it in action.
 
Jesus Christ look at that thing!! Er I mean, that's fabulous Cricket. If you need any more positive reinforcement or pep-talks, just let me know.... :D
 
are you worried at all about how this will handle the cold temps? does bamboo get more brittle in the cold? Since you are going fixie, are you worried about the additional stress on the chainstays due to skidding/back pedal forces?
 
Nice job! I think Ben should ride behind you with his helmet cam when it's done so we can see what this bike can do.
 
stb222 said:
are you worried at all about how this will handle the cold temps? does bamboo get more brittle in the cold? Since you are going fixie, are you worried about the additional stress on the chainstays due to skidding/back pedal forces?
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honestly, i don't really know how to cold will affect the bamboo. so, i guess we'll just have to wait and see...

I was worried about the fact that the chainstays experience alot of different forces while i was building the frame, so i decided to leave them as they were and cover them with bamboo for aesthetics. now i just have to worry about the other tubes cracking.
 
warcricket said:
honestly, i don't really know how to cold will affect the bamboo. so, i guess we'll just have to wait and see...

I was worried about the fact that the chainstays experience alot of different forces while i was building the frame, so i decided to leave them as they were and cover them with bamboo for aesthetics. now i just have to worry about the other tubes cracking.
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Adam, are you riding road with us tonight?
 
carpenters...

this may be a long shot, but an any carpenters or the like clue me in on whether I have to dry freshly cut oak before i attempt to steam bend it. If so, how should i go about it? I really would like to continue cutting my own lumber, so bear with me.
 
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GOOD FOR YOU, ADAM!!! Way to push the envelope. I trust (hope) that you've at least got a fork crown mount for a brake. That BB will take some REAL stress as a fixie...

Good luck. Steel may be real, but bamboo is 'dam-koo'...

Peace,
BB
 
warcricket said:
this may be a long shot, but an any carpenters or the like clue me in on whether I have to dry freshly cut oak before i attempt to steam bend it. If so, how should i go about it? I really would like to continue cutting my own lumber, so bear with me.
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You should dry the wood unless you want to dry it in the bending jig, which would take a while. There are formulas out there for time and moisture content. I know that for big construction lumber the average is like 1 year for every inch of thickness in the wood. It can be done in kiln/oven as well.


Pre drying lets you see where the vulnerability in the wood is..checks/cracks etc.
If it is for your bars, pick up some oak dowel/rod from http://www.mcmaster.com/. kiln dried, and at least the warehouse is local.
Probably a lot easier and safer than what I can see would be involved in making one from scratch.
Then again you did grow your own bamboo...:)
 
warcricket said:
this may be a long shot, but an any carpenters or the like clue me in on whether I have to dry freshly cut oak before i attempt to steam bend it. If so, how should i go about it? I really would like to continue cutting my own lumber, so bear with me.
Click to expand...

You can make your own kiln with a small space heater and a metal box. It should dry on low heat in about 24-30 hours(Don't do it inside). You can also bend it before you dry it so you don't have to dry it out twice. Bend it in stages so you don't brake it. If you are going for a big bend you should probably use thin strips and then glue them together to make one after the bending is done.
 
Fin.

this fancy shmancy piece of oak was going to be my bullhorn handlebar.
DSCF1065.jpg

used my handy dandy planer to roughly cut it down so it would fit into a milling machine
DSCF1072.jpg

a couple days later it started to splinter and split.
DSCF1096.jpg

DSCF1095.jpg

project aborted :(

anywho, i ended up just doing the ol' flop 'n chop on a pair of drops i took from one of the frames i'm using for the monster bike (thanks bike n gear) and made some horns.

final product (could use some brown bar tape)
DSCF1117.jpg


the diameter of the bamboo i used was probably too small because the frame is very flexy; oh well, live and learn... makes a hell of a lawn ornament tho.
 
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looks great!

could you stiffen the frame up with a wrap or two of resin/fiberglass? it wouldn't show, and could stiffen things up a little...
 
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