Framebuilders - bonding bamboo with steel

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melon
03-23-09, 12:34 PM
i have a hankering for a bamboo bike. not for any perfomance reasons, i just like the aestetics of such a bike. that and i fancy a new project to work on.

i have a old ratty mountain bike. im thinking about cutting the BB, headtube, dropouts, seat clamp away from the existing steel tubing and bonding them with new bamboo tubes.


what is the best technique to achieve a strong join between these two materials?

the origional steel tubes are 1" diameter, so the bamboo could either sleeve the tubes on the inside or out.


what do you guys think?

LWB_guy
03-23-09, 01:21 PM
I'd use West system epoxy (westsystem.com) 206 hardener/105 resin (cures in 24 hrs.) or G-5 if you're in a hurry (cures in 5 min.)
AllenG
03-23-09, 01:36 PM
I also used West System resins.
I also used raw hemp fiber.

The head tube will be made entirely of metal. Bamboo is not strong enough to act as the headtube.

AllenG
03-23-09, 01:38 PM
Lots and lots of good info in this thread.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=376129
melon
03-23-09, 02:07 PM
yeah, i plan to use the origional steel headtube, as i didnt fancy the strength of bamboo there, or fitting a headset. i might try and "wrap" the headtube in bamboo to make it look like its made from it.
AllenG
03-23-09, 04:29 PM
It will be disproportionately large compared to the rest of the frame.
Bamboo has thick walls. To sheath a headtube you will need a piece of bamboo that is twice or better as large as the rest of the bamboo in your frame.

With mine I build up the headtube to the size of the rest of the tubes with the hemp that I used to lash the frame together.