Panda's first bamboo bike prototype.
Well, it has been a while since I wrote in but it has been a busy couple weeks. First, our prototype made its debut at collegiate nationals in Fort Collins, CO. There were bike geeks aplenty and lots of compliments and interest- Thanks Complimenters and Interested Parties! But a bigger thanks goes to the people that supported us in trying to get The One (a.k.a. Frankenstein) there. First and foremost our engineer William Lord Reeves, ok we call him “Bill” but his “formal name” just sounds as awesome as he has been. We also want to thank the good people at Brave New Wheel, one of the best bike shops in the Fort, especially when you want to get something fixed. Finally, thanks to the GSSE program at CSU for supporting bike culture and sustainability by putting together the community ride on Saturday and letting us be part of it.
So last time it was coaster brakes (remember, they’re sweet) this time it’s our frame. The frame is made of bamboo tubing with steel lugs, echoing the steel lugged frames of the past. The Calcutta Bamboo we are using is amongst the strongest in the world. Despite its strength, the bamboo absorbs a lot of the road keeping your backside comfortable and precluding the need for bike shorts- Jacob, you should still wear bike shorts, like mustaches they only look good on some people. For people used to riding very rigid frames The One will be the most comfortable bike you’ve ever ridden. For folks that are newer to bikes and bike culture, do not ask a bike geek about lugs. Lugs are the steel joints that hold tubes together on older steel bikes. For a lot of us, lugs represent the high point in beautiful bike design (check out the frames at http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/ to see what I mean). We specially designed our lugs to work with bamboo (thanks again Bill!) and now when you ride The One, even cynical bike geeks, will give you props for riding on lugs.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Hey,
So I love the look of your bikes, and like the ideas behind it, coaster brakes, and internal geared hub, all sounds awesome.
But I am curious about your lug to bamboo connection. I have seen lots of DIY builds, and the other professional builds, and they all work from epoxy and then some type of binder material, hemp, carbon fiber, fiberglass.
How are you keeping them together, assuming your not welding them.
Oh and I didn’t see any mention of how long they have lasted, or you expect them to last.
Thanks, again looks like a beautiful bike at a great price.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Thanks.
We use an epoxy to bond the steel and the bamboo together as part of a proprietary joint design. We expect our bikes to be heirloom bikes if properly cared for like any other bike that you are interested in keeping around for generations.