I saw a picture of a bamboo bike and decided I had to have one.

I found out that

professionally built bamboo frames cost a few thousand dollars so I decided to build one
myself.

I had a lot of fun and I hope that you can make one too by following these instructions.

The bike I made is a track bike for commuting to work. The bicycle was inspired by
Craig Calfee who makes much nicer bamboo bikes. I really wanted something with a
minimum of fancy technology and carbon fiber (although I sprang for the carbon fork). I
used epoxy and hemp fibers on all the joints (no pun intended). The track bike also makes
it easy in that it is a very simple bike - no gears, cable routings, rear brake or derailers.

Disclaimer: Death or serious injury can result from a bicycle frame failure. Using new
and untested techniques is risky. Be smart.

Some links to check out before you get started:

Brano's instructable on carbon and bamboo bike building
Craig Calfee's bamboo bike project
Calfee bamboo bikes
Bike Forest BikeCAD
The forum for info on bamboo and heat treating it

The basic steps:

1. Figure out what type of bicycle you want
2. Get all of the parts and bamboo
3. Heat treat the bamboo
4. Tack it all together
6. Epoxy it all together
7. Build up bike
8. Ride off into sunset

Step 1: Pick the Bicycle Frame You Want to Build

If you are a real bike nerd you will love this step. You are now a frame designer and get
to think about things like bottom bracket drop, chain stay length and head tube angle.

I suggest using an existing frame as a template (if you have one you really like).

If you feel ready to test your skills of an artist go to www.bikeforest.com and use the
BIKECAD program. It is a free, online frame designing program.

Another good source of information is the Paterek Manual, which is actually for steel
frames. Paterek goes into detail on how to size a frame based on body measurements and
what each change in geometry means as far as road handling goes.

Once you have your geometry picked out draw your frame on a large piece of paper.

Step 2: Get Your Parts and Bamboo

There are some parts that you simply can not use bamboo for (maybe you can, but I
didn't)
These are:
1. Dropouts
2. Bottom bracket shell
3. Head tube (I tried bamboo and it did not work - too wobbly)
4. Fork

I chopped the dropouts off an kids bmx which are very similar to track dropouts. The
bottom bracket shell was cut out of a wrecked road bike frame. The fork I ended up
getting was a carbon road fork from Nashbar. The pink one was just for sizing purposes.

The bamboo:
I had no idea what to get so I went to my local bamboo nursery and bought some hefty
green pieces of bamboo. The size I chose was about the same diameter on say an
aluminum bike.

Step 3: Heat Treat Bamboo

Sometimes being impatient pays off!

The bamboo I bought was green and freshly cut. I realized that it would have to be dry
before I could use it but I wanted to use it right now! A brief interweb search tought me
that bamboo can be heat treated. So I busted out the trusty old blowtorch and got to work
on some test pieces.

Holy cow, heat treating bamboo is amazing. Steam and water literally spews out the ends.
Sorry I don't have a picture of this (I was using both hands and recently broke up with my
girlfriend so nobody was there to take pictures).

Practice on a few pieces first. The trick is to heat the bamboo evenly and slowly. The two
step process worked best for me. The first step is to turn the green sections to a light
brown. The second step is turn the light brown sections to a dark brown.

I also had a few dry pieces (already light brown) and only treated them once to get them
to a dark brown color.
Another thing, I only did one section at a time (from one node to the next).

Heat treating turns relatively soft bamboo into a super hard material. It is incredible. My
wood saw had no trouble cutting the green bamboo but I had to use a hacksaw to cut the
treated bamboo.

Step 4: Tack Frame Togther

 Show All Items
Now that you have heat treated the bamboo you need, cut, miter and tack the frame
together.

You may choose to use a jig to hold everything in place. I did not use a jig so I am not
going to go into that here. I don't know much about jigs so don't even ask.

I used the full size drawing and built directly off of that using spacers and standoffs to get
everything in the right position.

Use a good half-round wood rasp to miter the joints.

Make sure that you use trigonometry to figure out the length of the chain stays and seat
stays. What is drawn on the paper is a projected view.

Rough up the bamboo where the epoxy will go.

Rough up the metal too and stick it all together using 5 minute epoxy or your favorite
glue.

Once it is all stuck together very gently put the wheels and fork in place and check
alignment. If it looks good you are ready to move to move to the next step. If not

Note: The bamboo headset shown was not a good idea. I had to ream it out and insert a
steel head tube because the headset cups did not seat properly in the bamboo and gave a
scary wobble when turning corners! Start with a metal head tube and save yourself the
hassle. The picture does show how rough your bamboo joint areas should be.

Step 5: Epoxy It All Together

Time to get dirty!

I used epoxy from fiberglass Hawaii called Aluzine (it is a 2 to 1 epoxy specially
formulated for surfboards and has some UV inhibitors in it). Why? Because I had a lot of
it left over from a repair to my windsurfer.

I used two different kinds of hemp fibers. I used raw hemp fibers (or semi-processed) and
hemp twine (drawn out - semi-twisted, comes on a spool). The raw hemp seems much
stronger so I used that as the bulk of the joint and then used the twine to tighten up the
lashings.

Mask the frame off carefully. Prepare all the joint areas (clean and dirt free, heavily
sanded or rasped for an extra-rough surface).

The process is pretty messy and requires a lot of patience and finesse. Wear gloves and
start small - small batches of epoxy and small amounts of lashing. I mixed up a small pot
of epoxy and then dipped my fibers in it. I then wrapped it on the joint and followed that
with a dry piece of twine. There was enough epoxy on the raw fibers to completely wet
out the twine. Practice and you will get it.

I got my hemp from www.downbound.com

Of course you can use kevlar, carbon fiber or fiberglass.

Step 6: Build Up Bike

Now you get to put in a bottom bracket and a head set. Stick on the cranks and chain, add
the wheels and bar and the seat post.

Oh yeah, the seat post...

I thought my idea of having the seat post made out of bamboo was really cool. I spoke to
my local bike guru who explained that the seat post is integral to the strength of the frame
and advised that I insert a steel seat post into the bamboo tube. Luckily seat posts come in
a wide range of widths. I folded a small piece of sandpaper in half (rough surfaces out)
and wrapped that around the seat post to allow the bamboo to grip it. I then cut two slots
in the bamboo to allow the seat binder to clamp the bamboo down on the seat post.

It all worked but then, crack! I guess the sandpaper was too much for the diameter of the
bamboo and caused a small crack down the length of the seat post, almost all the way to
the binding. I drilled a small hole to stop the crack spreading and now I will have to wrap
the post in some hemp and epoxy.
I still rode it like this and it seemed ok but I am in the process of fixing it right now.

I also had to file down one of my joints at the dropouts to allow some clearance for the
chain.

Step 7: Ride Off Into the Sunset

So how does it ride? Like a stealth bomber! The ride is smooth and silky and very quiet. I
never realized how much noise a steel bike makes as you go over bumps and potholes.
The bamboo bike is quiet.

Riding around on a bike you built yourself is thrilling.

I am still a little nervous about it breaking but every week I am getting less freaked out
about riding it. I think the bike needs a name so if you have any suggestions...
The bike is actually not that light. It weighs about what my steel fixie weighed when built
up - around 18 or 19 lbs. I will weigh it again and let you know.

Step 8: Sweet Pictures to Further Inspire You...

1. Frame jig - it is used to hold all parts in their exact position. I have built the frame jig
from scrap wooden rods and some lathed parts and connected with screws. You can also
build e.g. adjustable aluminum jig, where you can make the frame geometry according
your needs. As a template of a frame dimensions for construction of a jig, I have used my
bike frame that I rode before. The completed jig was stiff enough and guaranteed the
position and the alignment of the metal parts during the construction of the foam core.

2. Metal parts - they include an aluminum bottom bracket shell, head tube, short seat
tube, cable stops, rear dropouts and a rear brake bosses. The used thin walled tubes and
cable stops were made on a lathe, for the carbon frame I have purchased rear dropouts
and brake bosses from the bike parts supplier. I have made them by water-jet cutting for
the bamboo frame. I prefer to use 7075 Alloy for the metal parts. It is good to have all
aluminum parts anodized, as then you do not need to wrap a light layer of fiberglass
around the aluminum tubes and part of the rear dropouts as an insulation between the
aluminum and the carbon against galvanic corrosion.

3. Foam core - I have used polystyrene foam to make the core of the carbon frame. But it
is better to use extruded polystyrene, or polyurethane foam, which is more rigid. Later I
have used the polyurethane foam which is normally used for insulation of the outer walls
of buildings.

4. Materials for laminating - I have chosen a bi-directional woven carbon cloth (180
grams per square meter). I have used MGS's L285 epoxy resin with hardener 285 for
laminating. For the carbon frame I used about 3.8 sq.m of the fabric, for the bamboo
frame about 2.0 sq.m. You can also use uni-directional carbon for the base layers and use
the bi-directional carbon just for the outer layer.

5. Supplies - I used plastic kitchen foil for covering the workbench during the wetting out
the carbon, latex gloves, a small digital scale for weighing of the exact volume of resin
and hardener, cups for mixing, paint brushes for wetting out, lots of electrical tape, sand
paper and a good respirator during sanding.

6. Patience - the more the better

Step 2: Making the Core

After I have built the frame jig and all metal parts were secured in the jig, I began to
make the frame core.

I had polystyrene foam rods of the necessary diameters, made simply by using hot wire
foam cutter. The cross sections of the main rods was circular, the chain stay and the seat
stay were elliptical. I have wrapped these rods with one light layer of fiberglass to
increase their rigidity.

In this picture you can see the aluminum parts in their exact position. The polystyrene top
tube and down tube is already bonded with carved small pieces of polystyrene for the
next sanding. In the front of the picture on the ground the chain stay was being prepared
for sanding (to achieve proper shape) and bonding.

Step 3: Making the Core 2

After adding all of the polystyrene rods I have sanded all of the added small parts in the
places of rods connection areas to achieve soft shapes. After that I have wrapped these
junctions with one light layer of fiberglass. After the curing of the epoxy resin, I have
softly sanded the whole surface.

After finishing the frame, you can melt the polystyrene out of the frame by using acetone,
so you can save about 90 g of the weight. I didn't do so, as I think the core helps to
dampen the vibrations and shocks.

Step 4: Laminating
I was a little bit afraid before I have added the first layer because of lack of experience. I
only had theoretical and little practical knowledge of how to do it, but by following the
instructions on how to mix the epoxy and how to wet out the carbon cloth it went okay. I
have wetted out the pieces of carbon and I have added the first layer on the foam core. I
have tried to cut as large pieces of carbon as possible. For each tube, I have used one big
piece with overlapping about 1 cm.

While it was still wet, I have wrapped over the first layer of carbon tightly with electrical
tape with sticky side up to provide compaction during curing. I could wrap tightly thanks
to the aforementioned light layer of fiberglass, which has increased the rigidity of the
foam core significantly. Before wrapping, I have perforated the tape with a pin over the
whole surface. This squeezed out excess resin after wrapping.

You can also use perforated heat-shrink tape for the compaction, or use vacuum bagging
technique, but for me this was the easiest and sufficient method. According my rough
measuremets, the ratio of carbon/epoxy was about 50:50.

This image shows the excess resin after wrapping.

Step 5: Laminating 2
In this picture, you can see the frame after the first layer was added and the electrical tape
was removed. It began to look like a real bike frame. Approximately four-five hours after
first layer had been done, I removed electrical tape lightly and I added another layer, and
again, I wrapped it over with the tape. I have tried to make as many layers during the day
as possible, because after it fully cured overnight I had to softly sand the surface for the
next layer. Before the last layer I have bonded the rear brake bosses and have reinforced
them with few carbon layers.

Step 6: Laminating 3
During the construction, I have combined the layers diagonally and cross-wise. On the
top and down tubes and seat tube, there are 9 layers; on the chain stay and seat stay there
are 11 layers. The high stress areas were covered with additional 6-8 layers. I have added
two more layers as I initially planned just for the safety, but if I built this frame again,
probably I would not add them again. I have sanded the surface carefully before the last
layer.

This is the picture after the last layer of carbon. Finally I have let the frame fully cure for
a few days at about 50°C at the heater.

Step 7: Finishing
After removal of the fully cured frame from the jig, I have cut the excess carbon and I
have sanded the entire surface. Also I have bonded the cable stops and then I have
sandblasted all the visible aluminum parts. I have added a few layers of wet epoxy, with
sanding between each layer. The sanding is the worst part of building the frame, don't do
it in your living room... The whole surface was polishing for a better look. But it is better
to spray some quality clear varnish over the surface.

Step 8: Finished Bike

This is the finished bike with my homemade carbon frame.

Step 9: Building the Bamboo/carbon Frame

I have seen many amazing constructions made of bamboo and I have always wondered
why such light, strong, stiff and elastic material is not widespread used for building of
bicycle frames, although such frames were built already hundred years ago. Since I have
finished my carbon frame, I was thinking about using bamboo for my second frame.
Later on, I have found an article describing a bamboo frame Craig Calfee built for
himself a few years ago. At that moment I was fully determined to build it too.

One year later I have built the bamboo frame according the same method as I built the
carbon frame. This was a little bit easier, as I did not need to laminate the tubes.

Step 10: Building the Bamboo/carbon Frame 2

The most difficult part of building the frame was to find quality bamboo rods. It took me
much more time than the building itself. I have visited several dealers in near
surroundings and I have tried to find appropriate rods of the necessary diameters among
huge amount of bamboo. Finally I have found few rods I wanted, but frankly speaking,
next time I will build such a frame, I'll rather grow my own bamboo, or fly to Asia for it.
The rods for the top tube, down tube and seat tube are some Chinese species of bamboo; I
was not very satisfied with the quality of the surface, which was rather scratched and
there were also a few woodworm holes in it. The rods I have selected for the seat and
chain stay were some other species from Malaysia. Unfortunately the seller was not able
to tell me what species it exactly was. During breaking tests of these bamboo rods I found
out that when I filled the inside with the polyurethane foam (which added only few gram
of weight), the rigidity increased mainly of the rods for the seat and chain stay, which are
the most critical parts of this frame.

Step 11: Building the Bamboo/carbon Frame 3

The frame building itself was quite quick. I have used the frame jig I made for my
previous carbon frame. Bamboo rods were fitted in miter joints together with aluminum
tubes (bottom bracket shell, head and short seat tube) and bonded with epoxy. The
junctions in the rear part of the frame I have made from polyurethane foam and the
following laminating process of the joints with epoxy resin and woven carbon cloth was
practically the same as for the carbon frame. The bamboo rods, in the place of connection
with the carbon were machined, so there were small shark teeth which guaranteed that the
bamboo will not loose. Also it is important to have well dried bamboo, so it will shrink
later minimally.

Step 12: Building the Bamboo/carbon Frame 4

When I have built this bamboo frame, I was interested in how would it differ from my
carbon frame. Above all I have expected that thanks to the unique properties of bamboo,
as a natural composite, the frame would be more able to absorb road shocks and the ride
would be more comfortable.

After three years, I can write that the bamboo frame fulfilled all my expectations. The
frame is excellent and still okay. Compared with the carbon frame it really does dampen
vibrations better and the ride is more comfortable.

The connections of the bamboo rods with the carbon joints are still rigid without any
problems. I know I can expect the bamboo to shrink or split sooner or later, but I hope
that thanks to the used method of securing the mutual connection between the bamboo
rods and carbon joints it should not loosen in the case of shrinking and the splitting of
bamboo can be easily repaired.