[Closed] Would you ride a wooden bike?

There’s an irish (i think) company doing something similar, also in ash.
Iirc, they compared the weight/stiffness to carbon.
I remember an old boy telling me that back in the 50s rims would often be made of bamboo.
Fwiw, I would ride one, I imagine it would be greener than metal or plastic wouldn’t it?

Yeah I follow him on insta. Clever bloke.

Would I ride one? I wouldn't go out of my way to, but more power to his elbow.

I woodn't.

I wood.

You can still buy wood rims.

I’d definitely give it a go. Looks like a really nice bike. Daft question, but is there extra maintenance involved and a limited lifespan to the frame? Just curious.

BlOody woke brigaYDe on bikes? WaT neXt? WooD rarTHer by pLasTic or cHeW on my Own ElbOw </satire>

Yes, btw. I’d give anything a ride. Wahey etc. Would I buy one? That depends. My road bike/tourer is from 1990 and looking to outlive me. So I'll probably just plant another tree! Thnks OP for the link, will share it, very impressive work. Would like to try one.

Would I ride one? Yep.

Would I buy one? Nope.

It's a nice piece of craftsmanship, but a poor choice of material for a frame that you'd want to own. If you want a material that has a natural bit of give to it then carbon fibre can do that, no problem.

There's nothing that would gives you that's unique apart from aesthetics and a warm fuzzy feeling if you're that way inclined.

I built one made of grass, so I guess I'd be OK on a wooden one.

[img] [/img]

I've also a grass bike. Wood love to also build a wooden one... Wood I buy one though. Nope.

Renovo used to do the same. Apparently ride quite well.

LOL..... Bloody hell! Haven't seen that Trig point in a while!

Overlooking Llangors Lake if i'm not mistaken!

Was there in '94 working for a very well known Outdoor Company. Ohhhh them were the days!

Wood is a really good material to make bikes from. Strong, light, flexibility can be tuned. Its natures carbon fibre

I'll have to bite..

artisan carpenter

So..... Really he's just a carpenter then? No need to add that extra stupid word...

I'd ride a wooden bike no problem. As someone said above wood is really nature's carbon fibre. Think about a longbow for example.

I'd be interested to see how they attached the "hardpoints", for example BB, headset, rear axle and derailleur?

Edit: Looking at the photo I see the rear dropouts are metal and screwed or riveted into the seat and chainstay.

Remember the Mosquito - a high performance WW2 plane - made from wood

So….. Really he’s just a carpenter then? No need to add that extra stupid word…

Not really - "just a carpenter" may do some more basic carpentry but they may not be able to make a bike frame or make anything that is not standard carpentry.
The artisan word is still stupid though, I agree.

How heavy is the frame and how does it actually ride?
Wood maybe natures carbon fibre (it isn't by the way) but how does it actually ride in practice compared to steel, alloy or carbon fibre frames and what different woods and grain "layups" have been tried and tested?

I make longbows and have thought about using the same technology to make a wooden/bamboo suspension frame in the style of the Cannondale scalpel. Never got further than my imagination though.

Not sure it's still going but there was a company making this sort of bike called Woodelo, I think...in Ireland, so probably the same memory as mention above.

I'd quite fancy one if I had the money and wanted something a bit different.

Wasn't it Morgan that famously make/made their car chassis from ash? In which case, why not a bike?

Wood is fantastic stuff.

Just consider the stresses on the base of a tall tree in a high wind, and you'll see why it made good ships masts.

Or talking about ships, it's barely 200 years since we were building ships that would lie alongside each other at close range and blast away with cannon at each other.

Or look at a wooden racing yacht.

And the people who built the Mosquito knew all that.

We have even better adhesives now and don't need huge autoclaves.

Ash is a brilliant material for a bike. Think of the abuse axe and hammer handles get.

As for repairing a wooden bike, you have more chance of a successful DIY job on a broken frame with easily purchased glues and materials than just about any other frame material.

Wasn’t it Morgan that famously make/made their car chassis from ash? In which case, why not a bike?

Don’t think the chassis was ever made of wood, just the “body” frame, and still is for at least some of the cars (Plus 4/6).

Don’t think the chassis was ever made of wood, just the “body” frame, and still is for at least some of the cars (Plus 4/6).

Seems to be correct, so says Google anyway. Obviously one of those urban/family myths (not that we ever had a Morgan in the family, just heard about them).

@stumpy01
Yeah, woodelo, that’s it!!

That's beautiful.
Would ride for sure. Own? Maybe - depends on price, can't imagine it's cheap but there's something about it I like, interested to know what the ride feel is like.

a poor choice of material for a frame that you’d want to own. If you want a material that has a natural bit of give to it then carbon fibre can do that, no problem.

Why not? Boats can last decades so weather isn't a problem. 'Give' can come from steel or anything else. Wood might not be a 100% consistent material but neither is carbon once you consider the voids and other imperfections. Really interesting project imo, would be interested to hear more from a guy who has the skills to make something like that and get it through the ISO testing.

Another grass bike rider here. I got chatting with Craig Calfee at Bespoked a few years ago and he was talking about a cunning technique for drilling out branches of Douglas Fir which apparently has an even better strength to weight ratio than bamboo.

I see GCN Tech have now had a ride of the Twmpa bike.

£3,000 for the frame and probably justified by R&D, labour etc,. but being the tight arse I am I would buy 2 or 3 completes bikes for that.

a poor choice of material for a frame that you’d want to own. If you want a material that has a natural bit of give to it then carbon fibre can do that, no problem.

Watched the GCN video earlier and I knew I'd seen the bike before but couldn't remember where! If I had the spare cash to do a build in keeping with the frame and wanted a gravel/touring bike I'd look into it further, the frame just looks 'right'. The quality of the workmanship looks spot-on too.

That does look Boss. How do the BB and headset sit in? Would kind of wonder about that long term if you were riding it seriously. Do you need to bond these things in or can you use the same principles of interference fit, or a screw in BB, say, as you do in a metal frame.

artisan carpenter

Best read as expensive carpenter 😉

I'd ride a wooden bike, but fk'd if i would ever want to build one. Though I expect the entire thing is cnc crafted.

It does look brilliant but I'd worry about leaving it in a damp garage.

Lots of people on here have bikes that are really old. I wonder how well this will age? Perhaps it might get stronger as the wood ages.

I wonder what the 2nd hand price would be like too? But I'm guessing the people who buy these won't be too bothered about that!

It’s a nice piece of craftsmanship, but a poor choice of material for a frame that you’d want to own. If you want a material that has a natural bit of give to it then carbon fibre can do that, no problem.

This.

Carbon doesn't have 'natural give' it has the exact opposite - manufactured give.....

It does look brilliant but I’d worry about leaving it in a damp garage.

This, 100% - it's my biggest problem with my bamboo bike. Spends the winter stripped down indoors.

I'd buy one. Plant it in the ground. And in 4-5 years I'll sell the new bikes that grow for a profit....
Mwaaa haaa

DrP