Bamboo bicycle in Chicago - Parity Cycles - manufacturer 2013-04-05 23-50

Bamboo bicycles are pedal-and-chain-driven, human-powered,

single-track vehicle A single-track vehicle is a vehicle that leaves a single ground track as it moves forward. Single-track vehicles usually have little or no lateral stability when stationary but develop it when moving forward or controlled. In the case of wheeled v ...

s that have two wheels attached to a

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

frame. Because of its light weight, vibration damping, and sustainability, bamboo is slowly starting to be used in bicycle frame production, though the industry is still dominated by aluminium frames.

History

Bamboo bikes were first patented in England by the Bamboo Cycle Company and introduced to the general public on 26 April 1894. A US patent was applied for in 1895, by August Oberg and Andrew Gustafson, and granted in 1896. However, with the development of tougher industrial metals, such as steel and aluminium, large-scale usage of bamboo to build bicycles never happened. Though bicycles are a staple of human transportation, in both rural and urbanised areas, bamboo bicycles are not widely used. However, with the advent of the Green movement, bamboo is being used again, primarily for high-end racing and

touring bicycles A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase (for ride comfort and to avoid pe ...

. Bamboo bikes are entering the market as low cost alternatives to relatively expensive and unsustainable aluminium and metal bikes.

Technical aspects

Several aspects of bamboo are extremely valuable to both cyclists and bicycle manufacturers: high strength-to-weight ratio, vibration control, and

sustainable growth Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desi ...

. Because of bamboo's tendency to grow straight, it does not exhibit "knots" and "turns" in its wood, unlike other types of wood. As a result, bamboo has a higher specific tensile strength than steel, as well as a higher specific compressive strength than concrete. This tendency also allows for excellent vibration control, which, in turn, provides for a smoother ride and increased stability on rough terrain. The bamboo poles can be joined in a number of different ways. The earliest models used metal joints which were then tightened around the bamboo. Another approach is to wrap the joints with resin saturated fibers to make composite lugs around the bamboo frame members. For modernised track bicycles, carbon fibre is used for the remainder of the parts that are not made of bamboo due to its light weight - for example, the fork, because it is difficult to find a perfect piece of bamboo that fits into the fork socket of the frame.

Projects

Bamboo could be used as an alternative to traditional steel and aluminium bikes in many rural areas because of its potential sustainability. A Bamboo Bike Project started by engineers at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

created a small number of bamboo bikes from 2007 to 2011. This was done with the intention of providing low cost bikes for Africans in rural areas, and stimulating local bike building industries, without major assistance from outside sources. The United Nations and the United States have invested in the Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative, which was created by Bernice Dapaah. This business markets itself as addressing climate change, poverty, youth unemployment, rural-urban migration and by creating jobs for women. As of 2015 over 1000 of these bikes had been sold in Ghana, Europe and the United States. As of 2016 few bicycles have also been made in Bangladesh. Bamboo Bicycle Tour bikes

In 2014 a Dutch company started organizing tours in Vietnam held on locally build bamboo bicycles. In 2015 the company expanded to Thailand and in 2018 also to Myanmar. The bikes the tourists ride are all created in Thailand by the Dutch entrepreneur Axel Lukassen. In 2013 two women rode self built bamboo touring bikes from London in the UK, to Sydney, Australia. They showcased the strength of bamboo bicycles and the ability to make custom built bikes without the professional skills and knowledge that would be required to make steel or aluminium bikes. These were also at a fraction of the cost of traditional frames.

Cost

The most expensive bamboo bikes cost thousands of dollars. Conversely, the bikes sold in Ghana for the Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative have been said to cost about $120, which is significantly more expensive than conventional bicycles. The cheapest for adults retail at $350 as of 2018, thus the bikes are retailed specifically for the export market. This variation in cost has two main reasons: the relative wealth of the consumers to whom the bikes are marketed, and the difference in production quality. In the United States, all parts incorporated into the bike are high-end, similar to the parts used in expensive carbon fibre bikes. Modern machines are used to laminate, waterproof, and join the individual bamboo pieces. The Ghanaian bikes, on the other hand, source most parts (e.g. bamboo, chains, bolts, etc.) from low-cost sources.

References

External links