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It’s been about a year since something prompted me to build a bamboo bike. I really don’t even remember what it was. After seeing guys like Craig Calfee and BME, I was convinced that it could be done. The question now was where to get all of the parts I needed?

Oddly enough, the bamboo was the easiest thing to get. we have a friend who works at a zoo where they happen to grow a lot of bamboo. She told me they had set some aside, and I just needed to come pick it up. Little did I know, that they set aside approximately 300 feet of bamboo. I think there should be enough in there to a build a bike, or four.

I’ve managed to scrounge up some parts and a donor frame (for the bottom bracket, head tube, and dropouts) from craigslist. Special thanks to Alexis and Colin for picking up my out-of-town purchases.

So, afte rI get the frame from Colin last weekend I should have most of the parts I need to get going. So I started working on the bamboo tonight. I cut a small piece, put it on the grill, and took a heat gun to it – experimenting with the best ways to heat treat the bamboo. It seems like it should work pretty well.

It was too dark for pictures, I’ll take some when I start treating actual bike parts.

Biking Bamboo Bike