How to Build a Bamboo Bike

As an avid cyclist, you should have a bike that's personal to you. Building your own bike is the best way to ensure you have something that suits your needs and individual tastes. Building a bamboo bike can be cheaper than buying a high-end bike from a store, and it will certainly be more beautiful!

Things You'll Need

• Bamboo Dropouts Bottom bracket shell Fork Head tube Epoxy or a similar glue Hemp filters (or Kevlar, carbon fiber, fiberglass) Hacksaw Sanding materials Large sheet of paper Drawing materials Blow torch Goggles Protective gloves

Instructions

1. Work out the style and design of your new bike. Get yourself a large piece of paper and draw the design of the bike. Check the Internet for resources regarding design and style. You'll find plenty of patterns or guides you can follow to ensure your bike is built in a functional manner. Some websites where you can find patterns include Instructables and Brano Meres.

2. Gather the parts you'll need to assemble your bike. Although most of your bike will be made of bamboo, there will be things you need to get that are made of other materials such as the dropouts, head tube, fork and bottom bracket shell. These can be purchased new or you can simply recycle parts from old bikes. Your local garden center or bamboo nursery will have the bamboo you need.

3. Fresh bamboo needs to be heat treated to make it stronger and more durable. Take a blow torch and heat the bamboo in stages, until it turns from green to a light brown, and then from the light brown to a darker brown. When the bamboo becomes hard, you will need to cut it with a hacksaw or similar cutting device, as it will be much tougher to work with.

4. Cut your bamboo into the right shapes and lengths for the bike frame, as determined by your plans. You will then need to miter it, using a half round wood rasp for the joints of the bike. Tack the frame together and you begin to see your bike take shape. You will need to refer to your original plans.

5. Sand the bamboo and the metal parts where the epoxy or other strong glue will go, as this enables it to stick much better.

6. Once you're sure that all of the pieces are in place, proceed to assemble the bike with the epoxy glue. Add the other components, like the fork and wheels, once the frame has dried. Make sure you mask the frame to ensure that the glue doesn't get on the bamboo or on other parts of the bike. Start with small amounts of glue and hemp filters and add more as necessary.

7. Add the bottom bracket and head set to the bike. Follow by adding the cranks, chain, wheels, seat post and bar. Once you're done, you'll have a fully functional bamboo bicycle.

Tips & Warnings

• Always wear gloves, eye goggles and other protective gear while working with sandpaper, blow torches and heavy duty glues. Be sure to work in an open and well ventilated area.

Resources

• Instructables
• BME: Brano Meres Engineering & Design