<p>Problem #1. Hi modulus (stiff) lugs or wraps of carbon, steel, or whatever joining low modulus (flexible) materials like bamboo or wood are a prescription for failure. The flexible material bends against the unyielding material of the connector and will ultimately fail at that intersection. Don't have to take my word, Calfee abandoned carbon wraps for that reason. They changed to hemp for a lower modulus connector, but the result of low stiffness materials throughout results in a flexible frame, duh. In any event, I doubt the hemp solved it, because the modulus of epoxy can't get down to bamboo.</p>
Problem #2. Bamboo or wood absorbs moisture naturally and that cannot be stopped by paint or oil finishes. The force of expansion due to moisture against an unyielding lug exceeds the proportional limit of the expanding material, causing the cells to collapse at the perimeter. When the moisture content decreases, as it does seasonally, the bamboo shrinks in the connector, loosening the joint. Eventually the joint will fail, not too eventually at that. Yeah, yeah, I know some Princeton engineer is doing this, he must have slept through the materials science classes, it's just elementary stuff.