Excuse the english post my German is pretty bad.
So hopefully this can be an inspiration for anyone looking to challenge themselves...
With no high tech tools, and no DIY skills I managed to make myself a Bamboo bike!
It took about 6months whilst juggling between family, and work etc last year.
I've been riding it for about 3months now, and I can happily say it's not yet killed me
.
Geometry details:
Reach 500mm
Stack 625mm
BB -45mm
Wheels 27.5in
Chainstay 435mm
Head tube 115mm (44mm)
Head tube angle 64deg
Seat tube 450mm (31.6mm internal dropper routing)
Seat tube angle 80deg
BB 73mm Threaded
Dropouts Carver ICB 142mm (Syntace)
Fork 555mm A2C (160mm Manitou Mattoc)
I did have to get a syntace offset dropout chip to correct a slight rear-wheel alignment error.
I also learnt the hard way I shouldn't ever have done the build with the headset bearings fitted.... they have very promptly died!
I've also learned that my geometry "guesses" were pretty good, but if I ever did it again I would go slightly less progressive (480mm reach).
It is great on anything fast and any uphill climbs, but a bit of a handful when it gets steep\slow and technical riding.
Cornering.... this thing is a beast! I never really appreciated what people said about the ride quality of bamboo until I was confident enough to take this bike into corners really fast. It's like a jack-in-the-box... no kidding.. this thing absolutely launches you out of the corners when you commit!
It did take a lot of getting used to the amount of lateral flex it has at the BB, as no other frame I've ridden has this, but I've over built the joints so I'm confident that it's purely down to the bamboo's natural flex, and I've had no cracks or creaks from it at all.
And yes.... I don't mind the "pink" joints.
I would have preferred if it came out red like it said on the packet, but I don't want to paint over it and cover up all my hard work.
It's built to ride well, and most of the time its covered in mud so who cares.
Here is a blog post about the build for anyone interested:
so-can-joe-average-build-a-bike-frame?
Full album of everything from the build here: Bamboo HT MK1 Album
I Hope this can inspire others to push themselves and try something ambitious!
Scar
So hopefully this can be an inspiration for anyone looking to challenge themselves...
With no high tech tools, and no DIY skills I managed to make myself a Bamboo bike!
It took about 6months whilst juggling between family, and work etc last year.
I've been riding it for about 3months now, and I can happily say it's not yet killed me
.Geometry details:
Reach 500mm
Stack 625mm
BB -45mm
Wheels 27.5in
Chainstay 435mm
Head tube 115mm (44mm)
Head tube angle 64deg
Seat tube 450mm (31.6mm internal dropper routing)
Seat tube angle 80deg
BB 73mm Threaded
Dropouts Carver ICB 142mm (Syntace)
Fork 555mm A2C (160mm Manitou Mattoc)
I did have to get a syntace offset dropout chip to correct a slight rear-wheel alignment error.
I also learnt the hard way I shouldn't ever have done the build with the headset bearings fitted.... they have very promptly died!
I've also learned that my geometry "guesses" were pretty good, but if I ever did it again I would go slightly less progressive (480mm reach).
It is great on anything fast and any uphill climbs, but a bit of a handful when it gets steep\slow and technical riding.
Cornering.... this thing is a beast! I never really appreciated what people said about the ride quality of bamboo until I was confident enough to take this bike into corners really fast. It's like a jack-in-the-box... no kidding.. this thing absolutely launches you out of the corners when you commit!
It did take a lot of getting used to the amount of lateral flex it has at the BB, as no other frame I've ridden has this, but I've over built the joints so I'm confident that it's purely down to the bamboo's natural flex, and I've had no cracks or creaks from it at all.
And yes.... I don't mind the "pink" joints.
I would have preferred if it came out red like it said on the packet, but I don't want to paint over it and cover up all my hard work.
It's built to ride well, and most of the time its covered in mud so who cares
.Here is a blog post about the build for anyone interested:
so-can-joe-average-build-a-bike-frame?
Full album of everything from the build here: Bamboo HT MK1 Album
I Hope this can inspire others to push themselves and try something ambitious!
Scar
