Framebuilders - Renovo

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Tome
05-01-10, 02:59 PM
What do you know about Renovo hardwood frames? They are the most beautiful bikes made! They're absolute works of art and are reputed to be as light as CF and tougher!

randya
05-01-10, 10:15 PM
I've seen them up close. A friend of mine works there. I think the bamboo bikes are getting a lot of buzz this year.
NoReg
05-02-10, 12:15 AM
I doubt it can be lighter and tougher. Wood can structurally surpase many materials, except CF is cases where lightness and stiffness are the key. I have been passionate about wood for 30 years, in boats in particular, it can come pretty close on boats. But a bike is not an obvious case, and one additional hurdle is all the patching together required for headtubes, bbs, etc...

You would need an awful big budget to beat my plywood trimaran, cost 3k.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnLmKXY-FCg

randya
05-02-10, 12:45 AM
the Renovo frames are hollow tubular structural laminates, the engineering and manufacturing are quite sophisticated.

http://www.renovobikes.com/storage/thumbnails/2528739-5966479-thumbnail.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1271083163053

http://www.renovobikes.com/

lateral stiffness test comparisons to CF and Steel frames (http://www.renovobikes.com/testing/)
NoReg
05-02-10, 08:28 AM
So is my boat! Stuff just isn't in the same ballpark as carbon. Assume these tubes are engineered to x degree, apply that effort to carbon and the results are going to be way out ahead. So for instance a spar in wood that had a 1 inch wall diameter on a six inch section could be done in 1/8" in carbon. And making the wooden one as environmentally durable is a whole other packet of fun.

Speaking of wood I sawed this one up on Friday:
Eric Estlund
05-02-10, 01:54 PM
I won't speak to the carbon/ wood comparison, but Ken was a boat and plane designer before he started in on bikes. They have a neat thing going over there.
AllenG
05-02-10, 02:36 PM
http://www.renovobikes.com/storage/thumbnails/2528739-5966479-thumbnail.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1271083163053
However they ride, damn they are pretty.
Jeff Wills
05-02-10, 03:03 PM
http://www.renovobikes.com/storage/thumbnails/2528739-5966479-thumbnail.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1271083163053
However they ride, damn they are pretty.

Try this:

http://www.renovobikes.com/storage/thumbnails/2528739-5966479-thumbnail.jpg
MacCruiskeen
05-02-10, 03:10 PM
I think the bamboo bikes are getting a lot of buzz this year.

I wants one. Not sure I can afford it, but I wants one.
baald
05-03-10, 09:09 AM
a friend is waiting on a bamboo renovo as we speak. should be coming any day now. i'll post my impressions when it comes.
baald
NoReg
05-03-10, 12:26 PM
"Ken was a boat and plane designer before he started in on bikes. They have a neat thing going over there."

Well that explains that. I'm a boat designer, and I did once work on an ultralight seaplane project... Unfortunately not an aircraft designer, that would really help. I used to read wooden airplane design volumes from the WWII period, but without the engineering background I only got so much out of it.