Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - offering you all a woody...

Being a carpenter and rigger... as well as a long time rider and admirer of the fixed machine... I found this little f$#@er enthralling... any thoughts, opinions, opposing points of view?

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2009/feb/2/AlanDowney.htm

and
http://velospace.org/node/12986

and calfee's

my opinion? cool, but not what i'd ride. a skateboard is about the only wooden thing i'd like to ride down the street.

****ing awesome. incredible craftsmanship.

I think im going to totally try it as next winter woodworking project! I think the shop should be set up enough by then! I need to buy about 35 more clamps though ! I know i could make it solid enough to ride, but It would be just as awesome to have one just as wall art ! My ***** for fine wood working has just risen again!

Whoa, that's crazy. The concept sounds a little rickety when first mulling it over, but with that many laminates it should have quite a bit of structural integrity. Looks beautiful too.

great details, love the woodman headset

Beautiful, thanks for sharing.

great details, love the woodman headset

Haha, missed that detail. Wonder if the guy who built the bamboo bike went with Cane Creek?

I think it would look better with a quill stem and lugged fork

Whoa, that's crazy. The concept sounds a little rickety when first mulling it over, but with that many laminates it should have quite a bit of structural integrity. Looks beautiful too.

I dont know.
As a long-time skater, I can attest that laminated wood is easy to break.

lets see a video of you riding ;)

and hopefully a pic of u skidding aswell hahah

http://velospace.org/files/IMG_1851.JPG

Saw this on velospace just now.
http://velospace.org/node/18083

Saw this on velospace just now.
http://velospace.org/node/18083
4 hours ago I would have thought that was awesome. :)

I wonder if its glued together?

I saw a picture of a Renovo ss, but its not on their website anymore...

http://www.renovobikes.com/storage/Renovo%206553.jpg?

Not ss/fg, but still drool-worthy in my opinion.

I dont know.
As a long-time skater, I can attest that laminated wood is easy to break.

Yeah, but this has more laminates than a skateboard, and I believe they're thicker. Plus, the shape of a bicycle is designed to be a whole lot more structurally sound than a skateboard. A bike frame is basically two triangles, i.e. one of the strongest possible shapes. With a skateboard, you're basically just standing on a flat stretch of wood suspended between two points, which is probably the most likely setup to create a break. The whole point of mentioning the laminates was that laminated wood is generally a whole lot more rigid than a single piece of wood of equal thickness.

I wouldnt trust a wooden fork, especially one that is bolted onto a steel steer tube like the picture above. and I wouldnt trust the wooden drop-outs found in the first link.

cool concept, but I dont think "structural integrity" is a quality that these bicycles posses especially if they are ridden in various climates for a period of time -- at least not on par with steel or aluminum.

I wouldnt trust a wooden fork, especially one that is bolted onto a steel steer tube like the picture above. and I wouldnt trust the wooden drop-outs found in the first link.

cool concept, but I dont think "structural integrity" is a quality that these bicycles posses especially if they are ridden in various climates for a period of time -- at least not on par with steel or aluminum.
When properly engineered, wood laminates can be a very light and strong composite material. I know it might be crass to post a car link here, but check this out:

Wooden Supercar: The Splinter (http://www.joeharmondesign.com/)

Will the bike warp during high humidity?

http://velospace.org/files/IMG_1851.JPG

Saw this on velospace just now.
http://velospace.org/node/18083

that bike looks like it must weigh a ton. :(

he's making up for the weight with those low-spoke wheels obviously...

I get a woody every time I go to FGG !

Will the bike warp during high humidity?

I don't know. He said on his page he's been riding it for five months, so I imagine it's seen a good variety of conditions in that time. All those laminates will help reduce the wood's tendency to warp, and if the wood was properly treated beforehand that would tend to make it more stable too. Birch is a good selection for stiffness also.

Sorry, I play bass so I'm kind of a wood geek.

I don't doubt that he has serious woodworking skills but I wish he took a class on frame geometry prior to building that.