Glad you are having fun with your bike. I haven't heard of any difference in power generation between the SON & Shimano dynohubs from the randonneur crowd and they usually uber picky about such things.

I've had both and still own a Shimano - works fine. I'd buy another without hesitation.

I'm way jealous of that bamboo bike.

BTW - Allen if you do get to the point where those panniers are under a passing truck... Carradice makes some that look nice and work really well.

This is my fourth Shimano dynohub, but the first time I've tried running twin headlamps. I'm going to swap out one of the lamps and see if I can get better preformance. I've been more than happy with all my other Shimano hubs.

One side of the panniers is in a St. Simons landfill (the bike has been on in the ocean now--had to replace all the rack bolts, they rusted by the end of the day). I'm going to put a stiffening board inside the surviving one and put some Ortlieb attachment hardware on it. After that it will be much more functional.

And I'm going to have to get off my but and build some fenders for this thing. Good lord, it leaves the most impressive of skunk stripes down my back.

What? No bamboo spokes?

Seriously, she's a beauty, that's for sure. I've sort of been considering making a trailer out of bamboo. Time to get planting!

I smell an interesting story here.

It was riding along the surf line when the crappy snap attachment let loose, got caught in my spokes, and I ended up falling over in the waves. My bike does not leak, and fortunately, rust either.

I like those Carradice bags.

If I find a North American dealer I would not mind giving these Basil panniers a shot.

Wrecked today. If it were made of metal, all I would have done is pick up my bike and keep going.
I'm livid, so I'm not sure that I'm thinking straight, however I am thinking bamboo is nothing more than a novelty.

I could salvage the frame, but right now, I don't think it is worth the effort.

*Would a mod be so kind as to change the title of this thread? Bamboo Bomber Lives is no longer appropriate, nor are my current thoughts about bamboo as a building material.

I think that these people have them, although not (yet?) in their online store.

I don't have the technical knowledge to be able to tell you what, if anything, you did wrong, but these people might.

I trust that you are OK.

I went down in some sand on the road.
The front rack snapped off taking the down tube with it.

I'm ok, just some scrapes, and a truly foul mood.

Thanks for the Basil link. I've got to put a lot of though into whether I'm willing to use bamboo as a frame material again. I may go take a class in welding instead.

I can go look at them if you want. They're a mile and a half from my house. They do mail order - that's where vik got the padded seat for the Xtracycle snapdeck.

What about some epoxy? Maybe wrap it in fiberglass or even (gasp) carbon fiber for some nice stiffness? No reason it couldn't be made stronger than before, IMHO.

Steve

That sucks....Such a beauty in its time. I might rethink using that style of front Rack on anything but steel.

Agreed.
It's going onto an old, rigid Gary Fisher, turned beater/commuter of my brother's.

Haven't decided if I'm going to use this frame as a destruction test mule, or try to repair it.
There will be more. They are too fun to build not to.

Allen, I like the lines on that frame; however, I don't think bamboo is the best of material. I can understand the original concept of building bikes from low cost renewable and local resources for third world countries, but as your mishap underscores bamboo is a brittle material and you were riding in relatively gentle conditions.

I'd love to see that design in a more conventional frame material. You might even have a MARKETABLE frame and design if it were steel..

That stinks. Sorry to hear about your bike. Interesting project. Is there any difference in the flexability/strength in different species of bamboo? Maybe a different type would be better?

I've been hesident to learn to weld because I am a photographer by trade; my eyes are my money makers.
The low cost of bamboo is one of the reasons I'm using it for my first building experiments. I can move the components from frame to frame until I get my skills honed.

I would make it a single speed with a Schlumpf mountain drive, and call it the Birchmore or the Bucephalus.

I used Phyllostachys nigra for this bike. I might try Tonkin for a future bike.
Both species have been used by others successfully in the past.

I'm going to concentrate on different curing techniques and see how they effect strength.

I wonder if some sort of lamination technique might be helpful.

Thanks for changing the title, Donna.

I'm setting up to do some interior lamination experiments.

yikes - sorry to hear about your bike Allen... Glad your okay and it was just an equipment set back.