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Bamboo bikes have benefits

  2. meligrosa
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The LAtimes had done a wonderufl interview with Craig Calfee in the past, but their archives are only free for a certain time.
Today, The San Francisco Chronicle published a great article about Craig Calfee (his bamboo designs, custom frame bikes and Ghana travles/programs)
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"It is wonderful to work with natural materials that just grows out of the ground"

adjacent post in today's paper about Calfee and 2 other bike makers (here in the Bay Area):
http://current.com/items/89077180_cyclists_favor_handma...
meligrosa

19 responses // Bamboo bikes have benefits

  • I'm not sure about bamboo as an all-weather material and $3,500.00 is a tad "pricey", but he's trying different ways to attract folks to bike power and I can certainly support that.
    huntre
  • Cool.

    Bamboo is definitely an all-weather material.
    Check out the homes in Asia.

    Price tag is about what current bikes are.
    That's why I don't have one yet.

    It is a great idea to use bamboo, a fast-growing renewable resource, to substitute for toxic metals and alloys that require destructive mining, lots more energy to produce and pollute the environment.

    This idea can be applied to thousands of other products that can utilize the many various diameters of bamboo.

    Bring back bamboo parasols and umbrellas.
    TouchArt
  • Bamboo is cool, but don't forget that the connections are done with resins and nylon mesh...still toxic stuff...difficult to get around that one...but all in all, very creative designing...

    meli, there should be an award for your bike enthusiasm...good stuff... keep bringing it on...
    PlatoTacius
  • Good poit PlatoTacius about the toxins in resins and nylon mesh used for connections.

    There are natural alternatives for the resins and the nylon could be substituted for sustainable natural alternatives like strong hemp fabric.

    Let industry know we want them to use renewable, non-toxic products and clean production with fair labor for all the products we buy.

    In a corporate controlled consumer based economy, the consumer has power, if we choose to use it.

    Just say no, by not buying their products, and supporting people like Craig Calfee who are making greener, cleaner products.
    TouchArt
  • Now lets see him making bamboo rims and wheels :)
    Juas
  • Much more durable than the cardboard bike....

    I'll be sticking with metal frames thanks.

    4130 6061 7005

    Ride on!
    1percent
  • very cool add, meligrosa! I saw these a few months ago on Invention Nation and was hooked. Sign me up for one!
    recommended by  TouchArt
    googolplexer
  • Bamboo is quite weatherproof. One cool thing is that bamboo neither shrinks or expands due to heat or humidity (remember those old slide rules?)

    And if I followed the video correctly, Calfee did say that he used hemp cloth for the joints.
    jahbini
  • bamboo bikes.....i wonder if occ is gonna make a bamboo motorcycle.....the tools that they are
    OWNED1313
    1 response to this
  • Oops, I guess I missed that...good show then... It appears that the construction is precision from the video. I just wonder how much abuse the bamboo will take before breaking a joint or such...I wonder if Calfee has done those kinds of tests, to compare with the metal frames, etc...
    PlatoTacius
    1 response to this
  • Bamboo fibers can be used for clothes too.

    Growing your own is preferable to importing it, so once they start, I'll be sure to get one.
    handshakeheartbreak
  • Love the bike. Hate the price. $3500 is way too pricey.
    MrBigShot21
  • Yay! My bamboo bike is soooo worth it...

    *CRACK*

    Well... it was worth a try...
    mrpibb19
  • not a bad idea, kinda cool actually

    my buddy has a bunch of bamboo shirts and they are the softest things i've ever felt
    diode
  • great article. i've read about bamboo being used to make everything from baby carriages to acupuncture needles -- why not bicycles?
    orangeseverywhere
  • Light weight, all natural, environmentally friendly, green bamboo, yes! The larcenous gounging price of $3500 a bamboo bike, YIKES!!!! That's a little much for material that is flammable and fairly disposable, even green!
    96thdayofrage
  • Well, I do hope he starts getting his bamboo from California soon otherwise what's the point of a low carbon footprint.
    Other than that, this is really great. I think I've gone through 3 bikes in 7 years so I think this is a great way to have a bike for life. Maybe that's the reasoning behind the high price tag. It could possibly pay off depending on how much you use it. Then again I don't have that type of change to throw around. I'll stick with the one I have until the wear and tear starts to hinder my bike riding and I'll wait until the price goes down on these beauties.
    MornRail

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