Bamboo Bike A Reality

markjugg writes "The American Bamboo Society has a page describing a working bamboo bike. This is a strong step towards making bicycling more sustainable, expecially in contrast to aluminum, one of the most resource demanding materials that exist."

Comments

Sustainable?

[thelizman]

There is no "sustaining" bicycling. You build a bike, and it's done. It's a durable good.

As for aluminum, it's manufacture costs is due to our limited foundary technology, not because of any peculiar property of aluminum. Also, aluminum is a relatively rare metal when compared to the iron it often stands in for.

Rather than deforesting vast tracts of already endangered bamboo forests (which is already leading to the demise of the Panda - not that the stupid beast deserves a future in the ecosystem), folks ought to consider carbon fiber for the bicycles.

Sure buddy.

[edunbar93]

From the article:

Usually it takes quite a bit to make the roughies turn their heads

This can also mean you look like a moron.

It is beautiful, light and fast

Light, perhaps. Fast, if you discount the fact that without gears acceleration is crap. Beautiful, no. I'm sorry, it's ugly as sin.

As I park the bamboo bicycle in front of the Shop in order to have a black currant juice it feels almost as if I am dismounting a Harley right next to a café

You're a nut. Also see first point.

It is hard to find a disadvantage (to the bicycle) - except the material it is made from. Light bicycles are made from aluminum, which is one of the most resource demanding materials that exist.

Every morning there's 30,000 single occupant motor vehicles on the road in your city, spewing thousands of tonnes of toxins into the air you breathe, held up by the accident on the freeway that killed two people, and you're worried about the resources spent *building* the bicycles that carry 1/30th that many people to work in the morning?

Someday, when the biggest thing we have to worry about is the amount of resources spent on building an aluminum bicycle, perhaps then we can turn to bamboo. Until then, there are much better alternatives.

"Building these bicycles is art. It is not something you just do. Every bamboo must be selected and fitted into the frame according to size and quality. The secret lies in treating and handling the material the right way. Learning that takes times and the maintenance takes time as well.

Great. I want 1000.

Oh wait... haha. Silly me. You can't produce these in a factory. It's an art.

So um, they're not going to replace steel bikes?