DCLane
Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
- Location
- Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
I'll be following this with interest as it's something I've wanted to do for several years, although I'd book into one of their weekend workshops.
Self Build Bamboo Bike Frame Kit Build Thread
- Thread starter chriswoody
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
fixedfixer
Veteran
OP
OP
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
Success!!
So after the email from the company I decided what the heck lets give it a go. So Keeping in mind all the advice on here I gave it a go. Firstly I screwed in an old cup onto the left hand side and with a rag in the bench vice jaws, I tentatively tightened it up against the left hand side of the shell. Keeping in mind @Gary E 's advice I took a dollop of copper grease and slathered it around the threads on the shell. Then I screwed in the cup one turn, before breaking out the bottom bracket spanner. It was a bit tight at first and I took it easy, but I could feel it was biting and not stripping the threads. After a few turns I backed up and then started again until finally I was all the way in. Then I screwed and unscrewed it a few more times to really bed in the threads. It still wont quite tighten up by hand, but with the removal tool it tightens up quite slickly. Removing the shell from the vice I also retested the left hand shell and there appears to be no deformation at all, so thats a relief. So @Tangoup51 you were right, a bit of brute force was the way forward!
So thanks again to everyone who took the time to post. You're advice was really helpful today and now I can move forward.
So after the email from the company I decided what the heck lets give it a go. So Keeping in mind all the advice on here I gave it a go. Firstly I screwed in an old cup onto the left hand side and with a rag in the bench vice jaws, I tentatively tightened it up against the left hand side of the shell. Keeping in mind @Gary E 's advice I took a dollop of copper grease and slathered it around the threads on the shell. Then I screwed in the cup one turn, before breaking out the bottom bracket spanner. It was a bit tight at first and I took it easy, but I could feel it was biting and not stripping the threads. After a few turns I backed up and then started again until finally I was all the way in. Then I screwed and unscrewed it a few more times to really bed in the threads. It still wont quite tighten up by hand, but with the removal tool it tightens up quite slickly. Removing the shell from the vice I also retested the left hand shell and there appears to be no deformation at all, so thats a relief. So @Tangoup51 you were right, a bit of brute force was the way forward!
So thanks again to everyone who took the time to post. You're advice was really helpful today and now I can move forward.
Smokin Joe
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
Brilliant!
This is the most interesting thread I can remember on Cycle Chat, keep the updates flowing.
D
Deleted member 26715
Guest
Well done
OP
OP
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
Thanks folks for the kind words, I'm glad people are finding this thread interesting, there certainly seems to be a lot of folk following along. I just have to keep going and make sure I finish it!
So back to playing with the Bamboo. I mentioned up thread that the tubes are ultimately joined together using hemp and resin to create lugs. The problem with this is that the hemp and resin don't bond too well onto the outer skin of the Bamboo. There's to much silicon in the outer layer, so it needs to be removed. Even though I won't be creating these lugs for a while now, it's best to remove the outer layer now before the tubes are glued together. The instructions are quite detailed about how big the lugs will be on each individual tube, so once I'd measured the distance from the end of the tube I placed some masking tape around the tube.
Then using a Stanley knife I gently scraped away from me, until I'd gone down 1mm through the shiny outer layer and into the fibrous, matt layer, underneath. Then I gave it a quick going over with some sandpaper.
So now I have three main tubes, cut to length, mitred and the outer layer scraped off ready for the lugs. The next stage will be to glue the front triangle together. I'm not sure if I'll do that this weekend, we'll see.
So back to playing with the Bamboo. I mentioned up thread that the tubes are ultimately joined together using hemp and resin to create lugs. The problem with this is that the hemp and resin don't bond too well onto the outer skin of the Bamboo. There's to much silicon in the outer layer, so it needs to be removed. Even though I won't be creating these lugs for a while now, it's best to remove the outer layer now before the tubes are glued together. The instructions are quite detailed about how big the lugs will be on each individual tube, so once I'd measured the distance from the end of the tube I placed some masking tape around the tube.
Then using a Stanley knife I gently scraped away from me, until I'd gone down 1mm through the shiny outer layer and into the fibrous, matt layer, underneath. Then I gave it a quick going over with some sandpaper.
So now I have three main tubes, cut to length, mitred and the outer layer scraped off ready for the lugs. The next stage will be to glue the front triangle together. I'm not sure if I'll do that this weekend, we'll see.
GuyBoden
Guru
- Location
- Warrington
Excellent, well done 
OP
OP
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
So about time for an update I think. It's been a busy week for me but I've managed to squeeze in some bike time.
So before I started to break open the glue, there was still a bit of preparation to do. So the first thing I did was to make up a prop to fit between the Bottom Bracket jig and the downtube/seattube. Basically it's a load of ice lolly sticks glued together. Fatter at one end to account for the smaller diameter seat tube. I then taped this to the BB shell.
Then I covered all of the tubes in brown paper and masking tape so that I could handle them without worrying about getting epoxy on the Bamboo.
The kit provides sachets of Epoxy, Hardener and mixing pallets, as well as mixing sticks. So I gathered all of these together along with gloves, tape and a Stanley Knife.
I made a start glueing in the seat post insert, just to get a feel for the process. It's certainly easy to make a mess and you need to be very methodical as you work. The epoxy only has a working time of 3 minutes so you need to work fast and make sure everythings set up and ready to go before you start.
I let the insert dry for a few hours before coming back and making sure everything was O.K. Before starting on the main tubes I test fitted everything in place for one last time. I also prepared sections of tape to wrap around everything and hold everything in place whilst it's drying. Finally I took a deep breath and opened the first satchet of epoxy. Once you start there's no stopping, you just have to plough on and get to the end before it all dries. Downtube was first, followed by the seat tube and lastly the top tube. The law of sod dictated that the tubes didn't completely play ball and started to fall out of place quicker than I could tape them, but we got there in the end with no major dramas.
So that's where we stand tonight. I'll check everything later and in the morning to check nothings moved and then it's on to the Chainstays and Seatstays.
So before I started to break open the glue, there was still a bit of preparation to do. So the first thing I did was to make up a prop to fit between the Bottom Bracket jig and the downtube/seattube. Basically it's a load of ice lolly sticks glued together. Fatter at one end to account for the smaller diameter seat tube. I then taped this to the BB shell.
Then I covered all of the tubes in brown paper and masking tape so that I could handle them without worrying about getting epoxy on the Bamboo.
The kit provides sachets of Epoxy, Hardener and mixing pallets, as well as mixing sticks. So I gathered all of these together along with gloves, tape and a Stanley Knife.
I made a start glueing in the seat post insert, just to get a feel for the process. It's certainly easy to make a mess and you need to be very methodical as you work. The epoxy only has a working time of 3 minutes so you need to work fast and make sure everythings set up and ready to go before you start.
I let the insert dry for a few hours before coming back and making sure everything was O.K. Before starting on the main tubes I test fitted everything in place for one last time. I also prepared sections of tape to wrap around everything and hold everything in place whilst it's drying. Finally I took a deep breath and opened the first satchet of epoxy. Once you start there's no stopping, you just have to plough on and get to the end before it all dries. Downtube was first, followed by the seat tube and lastly the top tube. The law of sod dictated that the tubes didn't completely play ball and started to fall out of place quicker than I could tape them, but we got there in the end with no major dramas.
So that's where we stand tonight. I'll check everything later and in the morning to check nothings moved and then it's on to the Chainstays and Seatstays.
No patience 
OP
OP
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
O.K. so everything has set nicely overnight and I'm really surprised at how strong it's all bonded together. Obviously we've still got the hemp and epoxy resin lugs to create, but I'm already getting intrigued about how all this will feel out on the road.
Now with that out of the way it's time to turn my attentions to the back triangle. With the knowledge I've picked up about Bamboo and working with it, I picked out the four tubes that I would use and decided how I would trim them to length. The nice thing about building your own frame out of an organic material like Bamboo, is that you can decided where the scruffy pieces will go and how best to display the good looking Bamboo. I then labelled up each tube prior to starting.
It was at this point that I decided to not follow the order in the instructions, but change things around a little. The ends of the Stays need slots cutting into them to accommodate the drop outs, however this makes them quite weak until their bonded into the frame. So given that, I decided to scrape the outer layer of Bamboo off now, rather than wait until after the slots were cut. Then a 6mm hole is drilled into the stay 40mm from the end. Then carefully a slot is cut with a saw, from the end of the stay, to the hole that's been drilled. Then with a Stanley knife I carefully carved the rest of the slot. You're working with the grain here so it's really easy to do.
Now you can see from the photo below that I deliberately missed out the first stage until now. The drop outs provided in the kit are flat, so that you can cold set them to the perfect angle yourself. I'd left that until now because it was much easier to gauge the correct angle with the stay in place.
They recommend that you pop the stay in a vice and then whack it with a Hammer to bend it. Looking around my workshop, I found a much more elegant and effective solution than that!
So I'm currently working on trimming the chain stay to the correct length and sculpting it to fit the Bottom Bracket shell. I'm taking it slow and steady and I'll pop back when I'm done.
Now with that out of the way it's time to turn my attentions to the back triangle. With the knowledge I've picked up about Bamboo and working with it, I picked out the four tubes that I would use and decided how I would trim them to length. The nice thing about building your own frame out of an organic material like Bamboo, is that you can decided where the scruffy pieces will go and how best to display the good looking Bamboo. I then labelled up each tube prior to starting.
It was at this point that I decided to not follow the order in the instructions, but change things around a little. The ends of the Stays need slots cutting into them to accommodate the drop outs, however this makes them quite weak until their bonded into the frame. So given that, I decided to scrape the outer layer of Bamboo off now, rather than wait until after the slots were cut. Then a 6mm hole is drilled into the stay 40mm from the end. Then carefully a slot is cut with a saw, from the end of the stay, to the hole that's been drilled. Then with a Stanley knife I carefully carved the rest of the slot. You're working with the grain here so it's really easy to do.
Now you can see from the photo below that I deliberately missed out the first stage until now. The drop outs provided in the kit are flat, so that you can cold set them to the perfect angle yourself. I'd left that until now because it was much easier to gauge the correct angle with the stay in place.
They recommend that you pop the stay in a vice and then whack it with a Hammer to bend it. Looking around my workshop, I found a much more elegant and effective solution than that!
So I'm currently working on trimming the chain stay to the correct length and sculpting it to fit the Bottom Bracket shell. I'm taking it slow and steady and I'll pop back when I'm done.
buzzy-beans
Über Member
- Location
- Woolsthorpe By Colsterworth
What a truly amazing and totally captivating thread, I also greatly enjoyed watching the YouTube video's as well.
One thing is for sure and that is you can't put a monetary value to this project it is way beyond such a basic factor!
Overnight the reality of a bamboo bike was playing on my mind as these things can do and through the mists of time, I remembered going to watch a cycling competition at a Velodrome in Portsmouth, sometime in the summer of 1962 or ?? 1963. I went with my cousin who lived in Gosport and where I was staying for a few weeks, at the time I was 13 or 14 years old.
I didn't believe him when he told me about the number of bamboo bikes competing throughout the event until immediately after the last race he took me to see several of them!
One thing is for sure and that is you can't put a monetary value to this project it is way beyond such a basic factor!
Overnight the reality of a bamboo bike was playing on my mind as these things can do and through the mists of time, I remembered going to watch a cycling competition at a Velodrome in Portsmouth, sometime in the summer of 1962 or ?? 1963. I went with my cousin who lived in Gosport and where I was staying for a few weeks, at the time I was 13 or 14 years old.
I didn't believe him when he told me about the number of bamboo bikes competing throughout the event until immediately after the last race he took me to see several of them!
Last edited:
OP
OP
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
Thanks Buzzy-beans, interesting story about the Bamboo Bikes at the velodrome. Talking of Bamboo bikes being around for a while, there's one in the National Bicycle Museum from 1889 and this great article here about another from the late 1800's:
http://www.oldbike.eu/museum/bikes-1800s/1898-2/1898-bamboo-cycle-co-light-roadster/
So a small update, I've finished sanding and carving the end of the left hand chain stay.
and after some small fettling and minor adjustments to the angle of the drop outs, here it is in place:
Pretty pleased with that and it's starting to look like a bike frame now. So I'll keep working on the other stays as I get time.
http://www.oldbike.eu/museum/bikes-1800s/1898-2/1898-bamboo-cycle-co-light-roadster/
So a small update, I've finished sanding and carving the end of the left hand chain stay.
and after some small fettling and minor adjustments to the angle of the drop outs, here it is in place:
Pretty pleased with that and it's starting to look like a bike frame now. So I'll keep working on the other stays as I get time.
BrumJim
Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
- Location
- Selly Oak, Birmingham
I would love to do what you are doing. However, lack of time and a history of low-quality workshop outputs from school and college suggests that this would not be a good idea for me, and I will just have to buy a ready-made frame or bike.
Is bamboo a good material for making bikes? Given that Far Eastern countries quite happily use it for scaffolding poles (and for proper construction, not just village Health and Safety nightmares), and given the environmental credentials of bamboo (fast growing, fertiliser free, harvested above the root, not the whole plant), it appears to be so. However, it is also a lovely-looking material, and having seen one in the flesh, I have fallen in love!
Is bamboo a good material for making bikes? Given that Far Eastern countries quite happily use it for scaffolding poles (and for proper construction, not just village Health and Safety nightmares), and given the environmental credentials of bamboo (fast growing, fertiliser free, harvested above the root, not the whole plant), it appears to be so. However, it is also a lovely-looking material, and having seen one in the flesh, I have fallen in love!
Last edited:
