As I mentioned in another couple threads, my wife got me a Calfee DIY bamboo kit for Christmas. It's probably premature since it hasn't even shipped yet, but I figured I'd start a build thread to keep myself going. I was interested in the kit from the time of the Kickstarter, and I watched all the build videos... but at the time we didn't have the budget. I was really disappointed both that I couldn't buy in, and that it didn't fund. I was happy when the kit came up for order on their website. But I still put it off until SWMBO gave her blessing. I bought the 29er kit in size medium, along with the plan and some small parts. The kit contains the bamboo and several major fittings (BB shell, dropouts, head tube, an insert for the seat tube).

This being my first effort at a bike frame, and the first major hobby project for me in a while, I intend to build it up just according to plan. The kit makes a very conventional MTB, with 135mm QR and disk brake. I did have a list of things I wanted to try. Colored cast wrap was the only thing specific to the basic idea of a bamboo bike. I wanted to try a thru axle, longer slacker frame, 27.5+ tires, Boost spacing, all the latest stuff. But all this isn't really included in the kit's design, and I can save it for a second effort of my own design if the first one works out ok.

I haven't sprung for the jig or the tool kit. For mitering, I figure I'll borrow use of a drill press and hole saws, or just file it by hand as Canaboo suggested in the Kickstarter thread. The jig is a bunch of hardware store plumbing and I think I can recreate it without too much cost.

I'll post up photos when the kit arrives. I don't know when I might start building. My family is about to add kids 2&3 at once, and one part of me thinks that I'll be able to work on it during the work outage. I was able to work on and build up a bike during kid 1. But the other part of me remembers the extent of the effort required for kid 1 and approximately doubling it, in addition to kid 1 being 2-1/2yo now. Will I even survive, much less play with a hobby?