What is Digg?98 Comments
- xcbxcb, on 09/26/2008, -0/+39$2,700 for a bike is "green".
Hm.
LOTS OF ***** GREEN. - inactive, on 09/26/2008, -0/+29That's exactly what Gilligan wanted. Damn Professor wouldn't make him one though.
- inactive, on 09/26/2008, -0/+20How weird! Wonder how it holds up? This is a mountain bike; I wonder if you can truly off-road with it?
- BeShirtHappy, on 09/26/2008, -0/+19I think this is such a cool idea. As for strength... they make bamboo flooring.
- nreynolds, on 09/26/2008, -0/+18you all suck at using question marks?
- philosophiste, on 09/26/2008, -0/+17Yeah it sounds great and all... until a panda comes along and eats your bike.
Damn pandas. - inactive, on 09/26/2008, -3/+20It looks pretty solid, but I wonder two things: How would it last over several years? Is it weather resistant?
Also, who the heck install a one speed transmission on a $2,700 bike?! - cgruber, on 09/26/2008, -0/+16They make skyscraper scaffolding out of bamboo so I don't think it's strength is much of an issue.
- BionicPimp, on 09/26/2008, -0/+14Too Expensive?....build it yourself.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-a-Bam ...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/04/byob_build ...
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/02/the_bambo ...
People have been making homebrew bamboo bikes for a while...it's interesting that it has become commercially viable. - WiretapStudios, on 09/26/2008, -1/+14Many mountain bikers prefer the single speed setup.
- WordsnCollision, on 09/26/2008, -5/+17But will the seat give you splinters?
- WiretapStudios, on 09/26/2008, -0/+11That's a sweet bike. And with similar bikes priced in the same range for a frame, this is definitely worth the money for a hand made, no wait, hand GROWN bike frame. I gotta give that guy a 10/10 for not only making a unique product, but making it VERY nice, and not just some crappy cobbled together piece of garbage.
- xcbxcb, on 09/26/2008, -1/+12Single speeds are fun.
Especially in the flatlands of Las Vegas! - mightyslick, on 09/26/2008, -0/+10These bikes are amazingly strong pound for pound as good as steel. Their road bikes are awesome and very hard to get. (waiting list) The bamboo absorbs a lot of road vibration . The mountain bike is a new addition but the road bikes on the other hand have been around for several years now.
- barstegry, on 09/26/2008, -1/+11As long as you don't ride through a Panda forest....
- SimonHodgkiss, on 09/26/2008, -3/+11I don't know if I'd trust it?
- BigManOnCampus, on 09/26/2008, -1/+7It's hard to believe this bike could take the pounding of my 210 lbs going up and down bumpy terrain. Maybe with scaled production the cost will come down enough for me to try it.
- OCPaddler, on 09/26/2008, -0/+6I
Want
One
So
Bad
! - BigManOnCampus, on 09/26/2008, -2/+7Yeah, but bamboo flooring is usually laid down on top of something else, is it not?
- MattB123, on 09/26/2008, -1/+5Singlespeed mountain biking is one of those things that sounds bad but is really fun (on the right trail with the right rider). I probably ride my SS on 80% of my mtb rides (at least a couple per week). I can do steep climbs and long climbs, but have trouble when it's long AND steep. I take out the geared bike for those rides.
- kontraire, on 09/26/2008, -0/+4super. freaking. cool.
- BXRWXR, on 09/26/2008, -0/+4I guess I'll just make like a tree and ride out of here...
- AmyVernon, on 09/26/2008, -1/+5bamboo is pretty strong, and it's quite an
attractive bike... wouldn't spend $2,700 for it, though.. - tikistyle, on 09/26/2008, -2/+6If you grow it in the shape you want it, it's by far the strongest way to get it in the shape you want it.
.... ?? - MattB123, on 09/26/2008, -0/+4He's been around for years and people do ride the bikes off road. They claim to be more crash tolerant than carbon fiber. I'd love to check one out but the price needs to come down a bit before I could justify it. A bamboo 29er singlespeed like the one pictured would be pretty sweet! Maybe this new process that shapes the frames as they grow will bring costs down a little, but I won't be holding my breath.
- rayskin, on 09/26/2008, -0/+3Obviously not.
http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/09 ... - leerayIG88, on 09/26/2008, -0/+3I replaced my seat with a big p
- cdawzrd, on 09/26/2008, -0/+3Some cultures build houses entirely out of bamboo. It is stronger than steel and very weather-resistant naturally.
- mrgreenjeans, on 09/26/2008, -0/+3I'm going to grow me a ***** car!
- jcaino, on 09/26/2008, -0/+3First off, you can get into a bike for way more than 2,700 pretty darn easily. Well-built bikes and custom frames cost big $$ - you can easily spend upwards of 4 or 5 grand on a build. Having said that - there are other existing bamboo bikes out there - just Google "bamboo bike" but growing it so you can get curved seat and chain stays is pretty cool.
- N0vember, on 09/26/2008, -0/+3More importantly, they make skyscrapers scaffolding out of bamboo
- ryanhayn, on 09/26/2008, -0/+3I've cut down a lot of bamboo, so I know how strong it is.. Still, I wouldn't trust my life to a bike made out of it. And for $2700? ***** that.
- ellectronico, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2I had an idea years ago to make a Roof Rack for my VW bus out of Bamboo. I think i might look into it a little more!
- jordanday, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2I'd call the fixed-gear thing a bit more of a "fad" than the single speed phenomenon. In the right area, a single speed can make a lot of sense thanks to lower maintenance/lower weight (which is a big deal for people in the high-end bike market.)
I see a lot of people doing the fixie thing for the "fad" aspect of it, but I really do thing singlespeeds are pretty pragmatic for a lot of folks.
On a lot of the trails I ride, you wouldn't be able to get away with using a single speed... there's just too man tough ascents, but I have been on trails that were more "nice and rolling" where a single speed MTB would be a nice change of pace. Still, having a finely-tuned XTR setup is quite enjoyable (although I would be the first to admit that I probably only use about 5 or 6 of its 27 speeds with any regularity.) - jordanday, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2I think you're confusing the word "easily" with the sentence "after months of intense research, trial-and-error, and failed attempts."
- rehabdrew571, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2that's really cool.
could you imagine how light that must be?
geez!
and to imagine if you had a bmx frame, how much of an advantage that would give you with such a light framework, and durability.
this is an amazing product.
as far as going green, i suppose it does that too.
but the price is kinda brutal.
can't wait to see what they'll have next! - merdiesel, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2I feel like he repeats that line over and over all day long.
- printenv, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2First, it is 2,700 for the frame, not the whole bike. The bike with the components that are on there right now will probably cost right around 4,000.
Now, as for who would buy this bike? There is definitely a market for high end hand made bikes like this. There are other bike companies that make their tubes out of a mixture of carbon and flax. It really depends on what you are planning to do and what you want to ride. These bikes are made for people who are very into the sport and specific parts of the sport.
Also, 2,700 for a frame is not that unheard of for high end mountain bikes or even road bikes. In fact, there are many manufactures who sell bike frames for way more than that with much less exotic material. - 69sofine, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2I'm assuming it's as opposed to bending into the shape you want it.
- Freshjive787, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2did anyone read the article? the frame is expensive because they can only turn out limited numbers, thats what makes the bike expensive, aside from that it says that its comparable to the strength and weight of a standard aluminum frame so its not like these things were made to break.
- mk3k, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2Nope.
- aussiessuck, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2If Blendtec started making wood chippers.
- dougvfr750, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2It's a Flintstone bike...
- Narcowski, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2Hi there, I see you post comments without reading the others first. You would have been buried a lot less if you were the first to post this, but sadly you, sir, are not.
- Tanktunker, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2IWOSB?
- code53027, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2Single speeds are fun, in fact single speed bikes need very stiff frames and Bamboo makes for a very light and stiff frame
- sizzam, on 09/27/2008, -0/+2I'd like to see pics of the frames still in their bonsai plant stage.
- BigManOnCampus, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2oh, I'm willing to try it, I just don't want to pay $2700 to do so.
- Suits, on 09/26/2008, -0/+2hope water isn't a problem D:
- worldnick, on 09/27/2008, -0/+2If he was really interested in GREEN then he wouldn't be seeking his own fortune he would be aiming at getting people to stop driving first and then when metal bikes start polluting the world we could look at this. I guess it draws attention to the cause, but it is showboating and it's just the kind of thing that will be used against his movement (my movement).
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