Self Build Bamboo Bike Frame Kit Build Thread

[chriswoody]

So that was a good day. I started with popping out to the DIY store and picking up some more sandpaper and a tin of 1K primer. Then I grabbed a cold beer and a garden chair and got to work. The sun was lovely in the garden today, the best part of 20 degrees and sat there sanding was really relaxing. I'd already put some new filler on yesterday, so it was a case of just gradually going over everything I could find. Some of the work, particularly on the edges of the lugs was quite intricate and I really got into it.

Not everywhere needed work and some places needed very little.

Then it was time for the 1K primer and time to see how good my work was.

Overall I was really pleased with the outcome. I'm not aiming for perfect lugs here, I want them to look organic and home made. So I'm treading a fine line between making them look good but not perfect. On the whole I'm really pleased with the way that they've turned out. The bottom Bracket in particular is one area I'm really happy with.

However there are one or two imperfections that I'm not happy about around the top of the seat tube, so as suggested I'll wet flat the problem areas and then try some last small dabs of filler.

So there we go, I'll keep plugging away, but a really satisfying days work and good to see it coming together. Thanks again for the helpful suggestions folks it has really helped out.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I think you are doing the right think in not aiming for perfection. The whole point of things made out of any organic material is that they should not look uniform but should retain some of the materials natural characteristics.

 

[C R]

That's one beautiful piece of craftsmanship. It is going to feel wonderful riding it.

 

[buzzy-beans]

I agree about the craftsmanship, if it were me, my dilemma would be actually using such a drop dead gorgeous creation out on the open road!

 

[screenman]

Sanding dry is a lot better, also do not use glass/sand paper but get hold of a few sheets of production paper. I would be using a Dolphin glaze or something like on those pits.

 

[Alan O]

So that was a good day. I started with popping out to the DIY store and picking up some more sandpaper and a tin of 1K primer. Then I grabbed a cold beer and a garden chair and got to work. The sun was lovely in the garden today, the best part of 20 degrees and sat there sanding was really relaxing. I'd already put some new filler on yesterday, so it was a case of just gradually going over everything I could find. Some of the work, particularly on the edges of the lugs was quite intricate and I really got into it.

View attachment 403385

Not everywhere needed work and some places needed very little.

View attachment 403386

Then it was time for the 1K primer and time to see how good my work was.

View attachment 403387

Overall I was really pleased with the outcome. I'm not aiming for perfect lugs here, I want them to look organic and home made. So I'm treading a fine line between making them look good but not perfect. On the whole I'm really pleased with the way that they've turned out. The bottom Bracket in particular is one area I'm really happy with.

View attachment 403390

However there are one or two imperfections that I'm not happy about around the top of the seat tube, so as suggested I'll wet flat the problem areas and then try some last small dabs of filler.

View attachment 403388

So there we go, I'll keep plugging away, but a really satisfying days work and good to see it coming together. Thanks again for the helpful suggestions folks it has really helped out.

You missed a bit

 

[keithmac]

I thought "stopper" was a very fine filling paste in a tube?, would be ideal to finish around the seat stay!.

Some cracking work and very patient, the end product will show how much effort you've put in!.

 

[chriswoody]

Yea, I think your right about Drago's suggestion. All of this is new to me and a bit of a steep learning curve. I'd read the earlier post about high build primer and figured Drago was referring to the properties of that. However, since reading @screenman post and a little bit of digging, I've realised that Drago was most likely referring to a fine filling paste. It seems that there is filler and then there is this finer paste that can help eliminate the bubbles that I've got. So I'm going to do some more reading tonight and see what I can find in Germany.

That's one beautiful piece of craftsmanship. It is going to feel wonderful riding it.

I agree about the craftsmanship, if it were me, my dilemma would be actually using such a drop dead gorgeous creation out on the open road!

Thanks guys, I'm not so sure about the craftsmanship label, but it's kind of you to say. It's been a beautiful day here in Northern Germany and whilst I took the old Super Galaxy out for a spin, I was thinking how much more enjoyable it would have been on this bike, really looking forward to the first ride now.

 

[chriswoody]

Seems Road CC has got in on the act as well and are producing Bamboo bike, along with a series of videos documenting their build. Their workshop is a little better equipped than mine, it'll be interesting to see how they get on:

http://road.cc/content/news/240184-new-video-series-building-bamboo-bike

 

[Drago]

Special carbon bamboo?

 

[chriswoody]

Special carbon bamboo?

Carbon fibre is actually one way of bonding the tubes, but it's not as effective as hemp over the long term. There was talk earlier in this thread of seeing one of these kitted out with a top end groupset, maybe they'll go this route?

I bet theirs will be rubbish compared with yours!

Thanks, hopefully you're right!

 

[chriswoody]

So the last update saw me getting a tad confused over the excellent advice being offered here. So I decided to step away from the tools for a few days and look at the options available. So using car filler, you have two components, the filler itself and a chemical hardener. You need to mix these together, typically about 5% hardener. It seems that a common problem is to overdo the hardener, which results in the generation of gas, which leaves behind small pinholes in the filler. Essentially the problem that I had. Common practice, once the main filler is applied, is to use another finer putty called glaze putty, over the top, which will fill in the imperfections and leave a smooth surface once sanded. @screenman advised me to go with Dolphin Glaze, which looks to fit the bill perfectly, sadly the stuff is not available in Germany. Frustratingly I was actually in Britain two weeks ago and could have easily picked some up had I known about it then. Oh well.

More research showed that the common practice in Germany is to use a fine filler, not as good as a glaze, but still more than effective, for what i needed. So I picked some up and got back to my favourite pastime of filling and sanding! Once I felt it was finished, I shot some more primer over it, only to hit my next problem, I ran out of paint just before I'd finished. There was no black primer left anywhere and with only a tiny area left to fill it was a little annoying, so I purchased some grey primer and decided to go over everything again.

The end result was really pleasing and I decided was more than good enough. I'd spent enough time sanding and filling, this really doesn't need to be 100%.

So I finished work early on Tuesday and with glorious weather, I decided it was high time to treat it to a top coat. So I popped the frame into my work stand, which has a 360° swivelling head, which allowed me to swing the frame around as I sprayed it.

I was using paint from spray.bike which is a heavily pigmented paint that is dead simple to apply and get a really good result from. Close up, the heavy pigment does produce a slight orange peel effect, but I can live with that. It also goes on matt, so will need several coats of lacquer to create a gloss finish, which will be a challenge to get a good result with. However, overall I'm really pleased with how it's looking.

So hopefully I can get a few coats of lacquer on whilst the weather is still warm and dry. Close to the finish now.

 

[roadrash]

looking good,very good

 

[JhnBssll]

Love that colour - all the hours of sanding have certainly paid off

 

[C R]

So the last update saw me getting a tad confused over the excellent advice being offered here. So I decided to step away from the tools for a few days and look at the options available. So using car filler, you have two components, the filler itself and a chemical hardener. You need to mix these together, typically about 5% hardener. It seems that a common problem is to overdo the hardener, which result in the generation of gas which leaves behind small pinholes in the filler. Essentially the problem that I had. Common practice, once the main filler is applied, is to use another finer putty called glaze putty over the top, which will fill in the imperfections and leave a smooth surface once sanded. @screenman advised me to go with Dolphin Glaze, which looks to fit the bill perfectly, sadly the stuff is not available in Germany. Frustratingly I was actually in Britain two weeks ago and could have easily picked some up had I known about it then. Oh well.

More research showed that the common practice in Germany is to use a fine filler, not as good as a glaze, but still more than effective for what i needed. So I picked some up and got back to my favourite pastime of filling and sanding! Once I felt it was finished, I shot some more primer over it, only to hit my next problem, when I ran out just before I'd finished. There was no black primer left anywhere and with only a tiny area left to fill it was a little annoying, so I purchased some grey primer and decided to go over everything again. View attachment 404758

The end result was really pleasing and I decided was more than good enough. I'd spent enough time sanding and filling, this really doesn't need to be 100%.

View attachment 404759

So with an early finish to work on Tuesday and glorious weather, I decided it was high time to treat it to a top coat. So I popped the frame into my work stand which has a 360° swivelling head, which allowed me to swing the frame around as I sprayed it.

View attachment 404760

I was using paint from spray.bike which is a heavily pigmented paint that is dead simple to apply and get a really good result from. Close up, the the heavy pigment does produce a slight orange peel effect, but I can live with that. It also goes on matt, so will need several coats of lacquer to create a gloss finish, which will be a challenge to get a good result with. However, overall I'm really pleased with how it's looking.
View attachment 404761

View attachment 404762

So hopefully I can get a few coats of lacquer on whilst the weather is still warm and dry. Close to the finish now.

Loverly