Fifty Plus (50+) - Forget steel, carbon or ti......

Does anybody ride Bamboo? I've read that these are suppose to ride really nice, albeit a bit heavy.

http://calfeedesign.com/bamboo.htm

they're beautiful. I visited the Calfee shop by the ocean south of Santa Cruz in July, saw a bamboo road bike, mountain bike, and tandem. Also saw one at the handmade bicycle show in San Jose last winter. Just beautiful craftsmanship. Didn't get to ride them though. They're serious bikes, but probably shouldn't be your only bike.

Did I misread the literature on this? How much does that bamboo bike weigh? I thought I read 4 lbs, but, maybe I'm reading it wrong.

Caruso

Bamboo has a good strength to weight ratio. Good fly rods used to be made of split cane sections of bamboo all glued together. I think the cost on this is prohibitive but they still compare favorably to the modern materials.

Did I misread the literature on this? How much does that bamboo bike weigh? I thought I read 4 lbs, but, maybe I'm reading it wrong.

Caruso
Sounds about right for the frame only..... I think they build up about 20 lbs. A tad bit heavy for something that price.

Sounds about right for the frame only..... I think they build up about 20 lbs. A tad bit heavy for something that price.


The price is more than a tad heavy at any weight. But it does look like a cool bike.

Although wood is an excellent material for resisting flexing (you can bend a piece of wood without breaking it further and longer than a piece of steel or Ti. Aluminum hardly bends at all; very brittle material. If you bend steel or aluminum a bit too far, it "work hardens," becoming stronger, but far more brittle. The big problem with wood, though, is that it is significantly affected by humidity. Too much and it weakens or deforms ("waterlogged"), too little and it dries out and loses strength/flexibility ("twigs snapping"). This is why we no longer use wooden rims, even though they would seem to have very good characteristics for absorbing shock and withstanding the flex of millions of revolutions.

I wonder what Calfee's bamboo bike would look like after a winter of riding in Vancouver or Seattle? Another typical California fair-weather bike product. :p

- L.

I bought my Calfee Tetra from the factory in 2000 and Craig had one prototype bamboo bike (maybe two) built up at that time, he was very proud of it (them). He was also working on his carbon tandems at that time and when I showed him my Co-Motion he let me go for a short spin on his personal tandem - the lightness of the tandem blew me away (but so did the price). He even had a tandem bike for a disabled stoker in the forward position. He designed and built the carbon recumbent in conjunction with Fast Freddy Markham.

I know that given his relationship in the early 90s with Greg Lemond, Calfee had the opportunity to team up with a bigger manufacturer to produce carbon bikes. I don't know the man personally, but Craig Calfee seems to be a man who follows his own interests and is not driven by the profit motive. There are a good many like him in this bike business and I hope they all succeed - that's why I believe in supporting the small builders in this country.

I had a friend who drove a Morgan sportscar and was always worried about termites.

The very best high performance bikes are now built with structural seaweed and
covered with carbon fiber to disguise it. I'm not sure what'll happen now that the
secret is out.

The big problem with wood, though, is that it is significantly affected by humidity. Too much and it weakens or deforms ("waterlogged"), too little and it dries out and loses strength/flexibility ("twigs snapping"). This is why we no longer use wooden rims, even though they would seem to have very good characteristics for absorbing shock and withstanding the flex of millions of revolutions.

I wonder what Calfee's bamboo bike would look like after a winter of riding in Vancouver or Seattle? Another typical California fair-weather bike product. :p

- L.

Great...now we need a humidifier for our bikes as well as our Macanudos :D

Although wood is an excellent material for resisting flexing (you can bend a piece of wood without breaking it further and longer than a piece of steel or Ti. Aluminum hardly bends at all; very brittle material. If you bend steel or aluminum a bit too far, it "work hardens," becoming stronger, but far more brittle. The big problem with wood, though, is that it is significantly affected by humidity. Too much and it weakens or deforms ("waterlogged"), too little and it dries out and loses strength/flexibility ("twigs snapping"). This is why we no longer use wooden rims, even though they would seem to have very good characteristics for absorbing shock and withstanding the flex of millions of revolutions.

I wonder what Calfee's bamboo bike would look like after a winter of riding in Vancouver or Seattle? Another typical California fair-weather bike product. :p

- L.

It depends on how it is made. Split cane fishing rods were impregnated with resin so they are virtually weather proof. If they did the same thing with the bamboo in the frames, it would work the same way. They might be even more weather resistant than metals which corrode.

I had a friend who drove a Morgan sportscar and was always worried about termites.

The very best high performance bikes are now built with structural seaweed and
covered with carbon fiber to disguise it. I'm not sure what'll happen now that the
secret is out.

Ash wood...