Bamboo Bike Disaster?

Calfree Design's Bamboo Mountain bike
Photo from calfreedesign.com

Craig Calfree sells a Bamboo mountain bike frame for $ 2,700. That's a frame, not a complete bike. For that price, You get a 10 year warranty. Bamboo bikes have been getting a bit of attention - with their proponents extolling the strength, lightness and ride quality of the bicycles.

There have been some DIY instructions floating around the net on how to build your bike frame using Bamboo - and some have taken the plunge and made their own. AllenG, a member of bikeforums.net is one such individual. He showcased his bike on this THREAD.


AllenG's utility bike is a nice design. Long chainstays, slack angles, nice racks. It's oozing with retro style with its brown Brooks leather seat and canvas panniers. Classic.

A few weeks after, AllenG posted this photo:
He wrote: " Wrecked today. If it were made of metal, all I would have done is pick up my bike and keep going. I'm livid, so I'm not sure that I'm thinking straight, however I am thinking bamboo is nothing more than a novelty. I could salvage the frame, but right now, I don't think it is worth the effort."

Maybe he should have used a different kind of bamboo, I'm not sure. But it took a lot of work to put this bicycle together, it's understandable that AllenG feels bad.