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HowtoBuildaBambooBicycle byayasbek(/member/ayasbek/)
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8Steps

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IsawapictureofabamboobikeanddecidedIhadtohaveone.Ifoundoutthat
professionallybuiltbambooframescostafewthousanddollarssoIdecidedto
buildonemyself.

Related

IhadalotoffunandIhopethatyoucanmakeonetoobyfollowingthese
instructions.
ThebikeImadeisatrackbikeforcommutingtowork.Thebicyclewasinspired
byCraigCalfeewhomakesmuchnicerbamboobikes.Ireallywanted
somethingwithaminimumoffancytechnologyandcarbonfiber(althoughI
sprangforthecarbonfork).Iusedepoxyandhempfibersonallthejoints(no
punintended).Thetrackbikealsomakesiteasyinthatitisaverysimplebike
nogears,cableroutings,rearbrakeorderailers.
Disclaimer:Deathorseriousinjurycanresultfromabicycleframefailure.Using
newanduntestedtechniquesisrisky.Besmart.
Somelinkstocheckoutbeforeyougetstarted:
Brano'sinstructableoncarbonandbamboobikebuilding
(http://www.instructables.com/id/HowIbuiltacarbonbikeframeathomeand
abam/)
CraigCalfee'sbamboobikeproject(http://www.bamboobike.org/Home.html)
Calfeebamboobikes(http://www.calfeedesign.com/bamboo.htm)
BikeForestBikeCAD(http://www.bikeforest.com/CAD/index.php)
Theforumforinfoonbambooandheattreatingit(http://www.bamboocraft.net/)
Thebasicsteps:
1.Figureoutwhattypeofbicycleyouwant
2.Getallofthepartsandbamboo
3.Heattreatthebamboo
4.Tackitalltogether
6.Epoxyitalltogether
7.Buildupbike
8.Rideoffintosunset

Step1:Pickthebicycleframeyouwanttobuild

(/file/FILF07WFEEMAOKL/)

Ifyouarearealbikenerdyouwilllovethisstep.Youarenowaframedesigner

DIYBambooBikeTrythe
NewStyleofRiding!(/id/DIY
BambooBikeTrytheNew
StyleofRiding/)
bybikelightsuk
(/id/DIY
BuildingaCarbonFibre
BambooBicycleFrom
Scratch(/id/Buildinga
CarbonFibreBamboo
(/id/Building BicycleFromScratc/)
HowIbuiltacarbonbike
frameathome(anda
bambooframetoo)(/id/How
Ibuiltacarbonbikeframe
athomeandabam/)
(/id/HowI
BambooBike#2
(/id/BambooBike2/)
byBAMBOOBIKER
(/member/BAMBOOBIKER/)
(/id/Bamboo

(/id/Bamboo

BambooBike(/id/Bamboo
Bike3/)
byNathanaelScheffler
(/member/NathanaelScheffler/)

andgettothinkaboutthingslikebottombracketdrop,chainstaylengthand
headtubeangle.
Isuggestusinganexistingframeasatemplate(ifyouhaveoneyoureallylike).
Ifyoufeelreadytotestyourskillsofanartistgotowww.bikeforest.comanduse
theBIKECADprogram.Itisafree,onlineframedesigningprogram.
AnothergoodsourceofinformationisthePaterekManual,whichisactuallyfor
steelframes.Paterekgoesintodetailonhowtosizeaframebasedonbody
measurementsandwhateachchangeingeometrymeansasfarasroad
handlinggoes.
Onceyouhaveyourgeometrypickedoutdrawyourframeonalargepieceof
paper.

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Wehaveabenicecommentpolicy.

Pleasebepositiveandconstructive.

wIMadeit!

paolobertoncin(/member/paolobertoncin)

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10monthsago

Reply

ayearago

Reply

ayearago

Reply

ayearago

Reply

greatjob

bpurcell2(/member/bpurcell2)

Name'Notjustforsmoking'asin,Hempis

davidbarcomb(/member/davidbarcomb)

Thislooksgreat!Ihavetotrythisone

faceboogerz(/member/faceboogerz)

Wheredidyougetallthedropoutsjointsfrom?cutoutfroman
oldbikeordidyoumakethemordidyouorderthem?

ayasbek(/member/ayasbek)(author) . faceboogerz(/member/faceboogerz)

ThosedropoutswerecutoutofanoldBMX.NowIget ayearago
allmydropoutsfromthesetwo:

Reply

ParagonMachineWorks
(www.paragonmachineworks.com)
or
NovaCycleSupply(http://www.cycleframes.com)
Hopethishelps.

faceboogerz(/member/faceboogerz) . ayasbek(/member/ayasbek)

Reply

Thanksyesyourthreadhavebeenveryhelpful...andthanksfor ayearago
thetwowebsites.

swimmer321(/member/swimmer321)

7yearsago

Reply

soafteryouwrapthejointsofthebikeinthehemp,canyou
sanditdowntomakeitlooknicer?thecalfeebamboobike
jointsarereallyreallyniceandcleanlooking.Howcaniget
thatlook?

chriscook42(/member/chriscook42) . swimmer321(/member/swimmer321)

ThatswhatImwondering.Itisalmostasifthehemp 7yearsago
andstuffwasmeltedintoasinglematerial.Butyouare
rightitisamuchmoreappealinglook.

Reply

masseffectcat(/member/masseffectcat) . chriscook42(/member/chriscook42)

It'smyunderstandingthat,besidesbeingverycarefulto
wrapthejointsastightly/neatlyaspossible,Calfee
overbuildsthejoints,grindsthemdown,anddoesafinal
epoxyonthecleanedupsurface.Theoverbuildis
important,becauseitallowsyoutoimprovethe
aestheticwithoutreducingthestrengthofthejoint.Just
don'tgrindallthewaythroughtheoverbuiltpartsandit
shouldbefine.

ayearago

Reply

chriscook42(/member/chriscook42) . chriscook42(/member/chriscook42)
7yearsago

Reply

kklaw(/member/kklaw) . chriscook42(/member/chriscook42) 7yearsago

Reply

Afterfurtheranalysisitseemscalfeeprobablydid
hempandthenfiberglassontopofit.Thefiberglass
couldbesandedandIthinkthatcouldvemadethat
look.

Iwouldbecarefulwithsandingthroughanyofthehempfibres,thatis
wherethetensilestrengthofthejointcomesfrom.Theepoxyprovidesa
matrixthathelpstoevenlydistributetheforcesthroughoutthejointbutthe
fibresneedtoremainintacttoprovideanytensilestrength.Chris'sideaof
alayeroffibreglassontopforcosmeticsandsomeprotectionisoftenhow
fibreglassisapplied.Thisiswhycarbonfibremustnotbescratched,its
structuralintegrityisseverelycompromisedifanyfibresarebroken.This
isagreatproject,I'mexcitedtotryitwithcarbon.

peligro(/member/peligro) . swimmer321(/member/swimmer321)

Reply

Ithinktheauthorintentionallyhadthejointslookfibrous.Ifyou 7yearsago
soakthehempcordinepoxy,onceyouputitallontheframeit
shouldfitalotsmootherthaninthesepictures.Andyouwill
definitelybeabletosanditdown,itjustwon'tbeeasy.Once
theepoxyhascuredthehemp/epoxymatrixactslikeany
laminateinthatitisarelativelyhomogeneousmaterial.It
shouldbesolidthroughout.

X
|
8

CobyUnger(/member/CobyUnger)madeit!

2yearsago

Reply

Funproject.Thanksforthehelp.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FP6/FULX/HRI97B3I/FP6FULXHRI97B3I.LARGE.jpg)

cameronbrown(/member/cameronbrown)

2yearsago

Reply

3yearsago

Reply

3yearsago

Reply

3yearsago

Reply

Hereismyfinishedbike,withastepbystepwriteup
http://www.cameronbrown.ca/blog/2013/09/bamboobike
buildpart3finaltouches/

Kelly02(/member/Kelly02)

Itmustbelighterthanusualbikes.Nicework.

dlu(/member/dlu)

Hi~
I'vealittleQ:
How'surbikenow~?

X
8

ayasbek(/member/ayasbek)(author) . dlu(/member/dlu)

Ihavestoppedridingthisone.Myotherbamboobikehasbeensitting
outsideunderatarpforoverayearnowandstillridesandfeelsgreat.

rjpeterson(/member/rjpeterson)

Inresponseto:
"ayasbek(author)says:Jan6,2009.4:10PMReply
Wow!Looksgoodexceptforthatonething!Iamsogladyou
gotthisfar.Hereisanideatrygetadifferentfork.Doyou
havealocalframebuilderyoucanspeaktowhocouldmake
yousomething?Therearemanyoldsteelforksthathavea
goodamountofrake/dragorwhatevertheoffsetfromthe
headsetiscalled.Anotherideaistogeta650wheel
(sometimescalledtriathlonwheel).Itissmallerandmay
allowyoutorideyourbike.Itwouldalsogiveyouasuper
trackstarlookbutwillloweryourbottombracketabit.Either
waybecareful.Ifyoureallywanttoremovethehempepoxy

3yearsago

Reply

IthinkIwouldtryahacksaworgrinder.Chemicalsseemlike
abadidea."
Gettinganotherforkwithmorerakeisnotagoodidea.It
maysolvetheproblemofyourwheelhittingthedowntube,
howeverthebikewillhaveterriblesteeringcharacteristics.
Bikeshaveapropertycalled"trail".Trailisthedistance
behindthesteeringaxisthatthefrontwheelcontactsthe
ground.Modernbikeswithcomfortablesteeringgenerally
haveatrailaround23inches.Inyourpictureabove,the
bikehasclosetozerotrail.Ifyouputaforkwithmorerake
onthatbike,youwouldendupwithanonexistantora
negativetrail.Thiswouldresultinabikethatdoesnotwant
toridestraight.Infacttheforkwilltrytoflip180degrees
beforeitwillgostraight.Usingasmallerfrontwheelwould
resultinthesameproblem

Dandie(/member/Dandie)

6yearsago

Reply

3yearsago

Reply

IthinkItisnotaverygoodideatobuildabikeframeof
bamboobecauseItsimpossibletoassurestrongandsafe
jointsticks,especiallyintheheadset,oneofthemost
stressedpieces.Ihaveseenmorethanonceheadset
breakagesandIcanassurethattheconsequencesforthe
drivershavebeenhorriblyserious,theyhitthepavement
withtheirfaces,.noses,jawbones,teethsmashed.I
thinkthisisnotamattertoplaywith.

syphek(/member/syphek) . Dandie(/member/Dandie)

properlytreatedbamboohasatensilestrengthequaltoorgreaterthan
mildsteel.

X
|
8

snotty(/member/snotty)

5yearsago

Reply

Yeah,bamboobikesareawesome.Makesuretobuildyour
lugsstronganduseTonkinorIronbamboooryoumayhave
problems.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FVU/5RVJ/GNXX3JQV/FVU5RVJGNXX3JQV.LARGE.jpg)

chuck190(/member/chuck190) . snotty(/member/snotty)

4yearsago

Reply

Iplantosubstitutetoptubetoptubeofmysteelbikewithsomebamboo
ofabout1"diameter(Icouldmakeit1.25"ifnecessary).IfIuseiron
bambooofabout1"diameter,doesanyoneknowifdrillingoutthecenter
with,say,a3/8"drillwouldweakenittoomuch?Thatwouldleavewallsof
about5/16"or8to9mm.Ihavereadthatwallsofhollowbambooshould
beaminimumof3mm.

X
|
8

snotty(/member/snotty) . chuck190(/member/chuck190)

Ofcoursetheonlysurewaytoknowistotestit.

4yearsago

Reply

ButI'veusedbamboowith~4mmsidewallsandit'sbeenfine.Begentle
whenyoudrill,ifyoupushtooharditmightsplaythebambooapartand
crack.I'vehadtroublewiththisbefore.
Alsobecarefultoletthedrillfinditsownwaydowntheholloworyou
mightdrifttoofartooneside.

chuck190(/member/chuck190) . snotty(/member/snotty)

4yearsago

Reply

snottyYourlastsentencedrillingdownthehollowmakesmethink
thatmaybeyoudon'tknowthatironbambooisnothollowit'stheonly
speciesthat'ssolid.Ihavealreadydrilledhollowbamboowithouta
problem.Actually,whenitsplit,Isimplywrappeditwithcarbontape.I
usedapairinplaceofthesteelchainstays.Ithastakenquiteapounding
onsomeveryroughroadswithoutaproblem.
ButIwouldliketoexperimentwithironbamboobecauseIcanmakethem
intoanydiameterIneedwithawoodlathe.I'mthinkingitwouldbeOKto
drillthemtotakeweightoff,butIwasjustwonderingifanyonehashad
experiencewiththis.

X
|
8

snotty(/member/snotty) . chuck190(/member/chuck190)

X
|
8

snotty(/member/snotty) . snotty(/member/snotty)

4yearsago

Reply

Ahyes.ForsomereasonIthoughtironbamboohadalittlehollowarea.I
mustbethinkingofsomeothertype.

5yearsago

Reply

Yes,that'sabamboowindturbineinbehindmethere:
http://www.instructables.com/id/WindTurbineBladesfromBamboo/
(http://www.instructables.com/id/WindTurbineBladesfromBamboo/)

rudi.carfell(/member/rudi.carfell)

6yearsago

Reply

Wherehaveyoubougthyourhemps?Andwhatsimportant
tolookatwhenIbuythem?

davmaldo(/member/davmaldo) . rudi.carfell(/member/rudi.carfell)

Reply

Ebay!Aftersomeresearch,ibelieveyouwantthe"bast"asitis 4yearsago
thestrongestpartoftheplant,i.e.search"hempbastfiber"and
youshouldgetafewhits.Ihavehadtroublesourcinghempin
itsnontwineform.

|
8

LiquidLightning(/member/LiquidLightning)

4yearsago

Reply

4yearsago

Reply

Uh..Wheredidyougetthehemp?Untanglinghempropes?
Coughcough.

foxes76133(/member/foxes76133)

HeyAyasbek,IhavesomequestionsI'dliketoaskabout
thisprojectabout"HeatTreatingBamboo".
Iwaswonderingwhattoolsyouusedfortheproject,and
howyouusedthem.Iwouldliketoexperiment,butdueto
myfinances,myexperimentswouldalsohavetobeuseful,
becauseIdon'thaveenoughmoneytobuybambooinbulk
amounts,andusesomeofitonlytoruinitbecauseof

experimentation.
I'vebeentryingtoworkonaprojectofmyownaswell,but
notmakingabamboobike,it'sactuallytomakeshaftsfor
Arrowsformybow.SoI'dliketoknowmore.Otherwise,I
havetodoasearchanddestroyalloverGogglejusttofinda
dealerinmylocalareajustforHeatTemperedBamboo.

sephiroth67(/member/sephiroth67)

4yearsago

Reply

4yearsago

Reply

4yearsago

Reply

5yearsago

Reply

5yearsago

Reply

5yearsago

Reply

5yearsago

Reply

5yearsago

Reply

Hopeit'snotTOOlate,butB2soundslikeafinename...fits
yourdescriptionofastealthbomber,andyoucanjustsayit
standsforbamboo=D

mykall(/member/mykall)

heythere,
amazingjobyoudidthere,youhavemygreatestrespect.
Wewerethinkingoftryingtobuildoneinourbicycle
cooperative,butthefellawearegettinghempfromneedsto
knowwhatkindofhempfibreweneed,howthin,andhow
clean,andalsoofcoursehowmuch.
Iwaswonderingifyoucouldpossiblyhelpmewithsome
advice?
howmuchdidyouuseononebicycleandwhatsortofhemp
wereyouusing?
lookforwardtoyourhelp

fgunnar(/member/fgunnar)

Outofcuriosity,howmuchdoesitweigh?

geekonabike(/member/geekonabike)

TheWoody

EngineerJakit(/member/EngineerJakit)

Soifyouweretobuildsomethingoutofeithergreenor
heatedbamboo,whichwouldbetheeasiertoworkwith?
mainlywithflexibilityandhardness.

maddoctor(/member/maddoctor)

Howdidyougetyourbottombracketshelloutofthebike?
MostofthebikesIhavelookedathavetheirbottombracket
shellsweldedon.

X
8

frisbeechamp1983(/member/frisbeechamp1983)

|
8

willrandship(/member/willrandship)

canthisbeusedtomakeahardtailmountainbike?

Calcforblogcred...:P
Coolidea,butI'dbeveryafraidtorideit,myself.Evenifa
professionalbuiltit:P

X
|
8

snotty(/member/snotty) . willrandship(/member/willrandship) 5yearsago

Reply

Fearisscarystuffeh.SeriouslythoughImadeabamboobikereally
badlyanditbrokeinlotsofplacesbutitneverfellapart.Itjustgotwiggly.

NetReaper(/member/NetReaper)

5yearsago

Reply

6yearsago

Reply

6yearsago

Reply

6yearsago

Reply

7yearsago

Reply

Couldyouuseasecondmetalpieceundertheseatthatyou
putatthebottom?Itseemslikeit'sthesameanglesandit
wouldbesturdier.

DylanRoberts(/member/DylanRoberts)

TheBambicycleorTheBambike.Yeah...

|
8

a918bmxr(/member/a918bmxr)

Oxzane68(/member/Oxzane68)

ihaveseenaframebreakandtheridergotahugegash
acrosshisstomachfromwherethetopandbottomtubes
attachedtotheheadtube...itwasn'tprettyD8

Nooffesnse,butIbuiltone,anditshattered.

SirRidesalot(/member/SirRidesalot)

http://www.ridepanda.com(http://www.ridepanda.com)You
shouldalsocheckoutwhatsomeguysfromColoradoare
doingathttp://www.ridepanda.com.
(http://www.ridepanda.com.)Theircompany,Panda
Bicycles,lookslikeit'smakingsomesweetbamboobikes
withsteellugs.

thepelton(/member/thepelton) . SirRidesalot(/member/SirRidesalot)

Reply

6yearsago
Neat!IliveinColoradoSprings!Imaybeupforafieldtrip.I
wonderifthereisanywaytodothespokesinsmallerbamboo?

thepelton(/member/thepelton) . thepelton(/member/thepelton)

Nevermind!Ifyoulookatthecalfeedesign.comwebsite,you
seethatverythingdoneinAfrica.Itmakesforastrongerback
wheelthatcancarrylargerloadsthanthestandardwire
spokes.8>)

jentran(/member/jentran)

Fortheheadset,perhapsyoucouldcutonesothatthereare
nodesateitherendtoincreasestiffness.Therearemore
nodeslocatedatthebottomofabambooculmthanatthe
top.I'mnotsurehowthickthewallsoftheheadsetyoutried
was,thatcouldhelptoo.Someotherpeoplesprayed
expandingformsuccessfullytoincreasestiffnesstotheseat
tube.

Reply

6yearsago

6yearsago

Reply

mmann1123(/member/mmann1123)

6yearsago

Reply

HeyeveryoneIhavefoundthelargemajorityof'howto'sites
lackinginspecificity.Iamputtingtogetherablogwithalot
moredetailandexperimentstogethercomecheckitoutat
http://bamboobike.wordpress.com/
(http://bamboobike.wordpress.com/).
Therearealotofpicturesandgooddetailsonhowto
choosematerials,howtomiterbetter,evenhowtomakea
hempfiberheadtubeetc.Hopeitishelpful.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FIF/01ZM/G6MPMZC1/FIF01ZMG6MPMZC1.LARGE.jpg)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F5G/5YVD/G825R9XT/F5G5YVDG825R9XT.LARGE.jpg)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FWA/669M/G825R9XS/FWA669MG825R9XS.LARGE.jpg)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F6G/SJ44/G825R9XR/F6GSJ44G825R9XR.LARGE.jpg)

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