Bamboo bicycle

Bamboo bicycles are pedal-and-chain-driven, human-powered, single-track vehicles that have two wheels attached to a bamboo 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.

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 currently not widely used. However, with the advent of the Green movement, bamboo is being used again, primarily for high-end racing/touring bicycles. Today, bamboo bikes are starting to enter the market as low cost alternatives to relatively expensive and unsustainable aluminium/metal bikes.

Several aspects of bamboo are extremely valuable to both cyclists and bicycle manufacturers: high strength-to-weight ratio, vibration control, and sustainable growth. 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 tensile strength than steel, as well as a higher compression 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. Currently, 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 (e.g. the fork, because it is difficult to find a perfect piece of bamboo that fits into the fork socket of the frame).

Because of its low cost and sustainable growth, bamboo is currently being used as a cheap alternative to traditional steel/aluminium bikes in many rural areas. For example, the United Nations and the United States are currently funding the Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative. Created by Bernice Dapaah, the initiative which to address climate change, poverty, youth unemployment, and rural-urban migration by creating jobs for young people, especially women, through the building of high quality bamboo bicycles. Currently, over 1000 of these bikes have been sold to consumers in Ghana, Europe, and the United States.

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Wikipedia