To Sam Pilgrim?
I'm no engineer but that resin/fiber stuff or whatever it is holding the tubes together looks well sketchy!
Looks like it's got a snakeskin pattern to it. I noticed he didn't refer to it as carbon fibre. Maybe it's some sort of natural fibre and resin?
Bamboo fibre mixed with some sort of glue/resin? looks like organinc fibre when he breaks it apart. It's not carbon fibre, that much I'm pretty sure of!
What a likeable chap.
A few years ago I was tempted my the whole "build your own frame in the garage" thing and this is exactly why I decided not too. I had nowhere near enough confidence in myself to not making something that can cause life-changing injuries!
Company here if anyone's interested.
https://rootsbamboobikes.co.uk/product-category/bike-frames/
I’m no engineer but that resin/fiber stuff or whatever it is holding the tubes together looks well sketchy!
It's probably epoxy, but I'd think any resin like that would provide a lot of strength, afterall its the type of stuff they use to hold boats together.
It’s probably epoxy, but I’d think any resin like that would provide a lot of strength, afterall its the type of stuff they use to hold boats together.
True, but the type of fibres will play a huge part, not just the type of epoxy - don't boats use a form of glass fibres in the mix? a bit like carbon fibre is mixed with whatever sort of epoxy?
If they are using bamboo fibres mixed with epoxy that might explain how the broken joints look...and why the joints snapped, if you look at the video at 13mins 50secs.
Pretty sure it only broke because the forks were too long for an HT 😉
It's a pretty looking frame and Sam Pilgrim gave it some stick but, looking at their web site doesn't instil much confidence.
The front brake(s) on the MTB looks slightly sketchy and the chain length on the shopper thing is about a foot too long.
The hemp? Construction of that head tube is (imo) wrong for MTB application - if suspect it'll be hemp fibre and an epoxy based resin mix. It's cheaper than the stuff bamboo bicycle club use which is a fibre cloth. It's also easier and provides a better finish. But cirtainly isn't as strong - good for touring though as you can build a seriously comfortable bike.
The flex in Sam's bike wouldn't worry me, both my bamboo bikes are quite flexy but I made sure my last one designed some of the flex out of the BB area.
Tbh I was still quite surprised it dramatically tore itself apart.
The initial wide shot makes the frame look like its held together with parcel tape!
Has anyone ever really had to hammer their stem onto the steerer? It's all a bit "for effect" innit
If the frames use 'epoxy resin' to hold them together does that mean they are part natural/part synthetic ?
Or can they make natural epoxy resin's? Obviously current bikes are no where near eco friendly so could this be the future, even if this means everyone has to lower their expectations of what a bike can do
You can buy 'natural' based epoxy, so that's not an issue - imo it's growing the correct bamboo locally that'll make it an eco bike..
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So the frame is the only part of our bikes that not eco friendly? Uh-huh.
Uni directional bamboo plus glue and string.
So the frame is the only part of our bikes that not eco friendly? Uh-huh.
Not saying that, its a step in the right direction and moving away from plastic bikes
The joints all look like they're reinforced with a non-woven natural fibre (Hemp or Flax?) rather than the Carbon tow that a lot of Bamboo frames seem to use wound and compressed at the connection. Ultimately the failure was the (steel?) Head tube ripping it's way out of that rather crappy composite it was bonded into, not a failure of the Bamboo tubes TBF.
A better constructed bike might have survived longer/better but that thing was never meant to deal with leaving the ground...
If the frames use ‘epoxy resin’ to hold them together does that mean they are part natural/part synthetic ?
Or can they make natural epoxy resin’s? Obviously current bikes are no where near eco friendly so could this be the future, even if this means everyone has to lower their expectations of what a bike can do
you can get "Bio Resin" that's at least part plant based, but I doubt that's what was used in this particular instance.
plus glue and string.
Ahh, those early Raleigh dyna-techs 😆
Used to go past a local LBS in Munich on a weekend. The guy had a roaring trade giving classes on building your own bamboo frame.
Most of them looked gash and sketchy AF. Wouldn't fancy being the guinea pig on the first ride.
Made correctly for the application, even if the components let it down 😉
Wil’s article about building a bamboo bike is still one of my favourite Singletrack articles. Not sure why. Maybe the confessions of a perfectionist trying to deal with wayward materials and epoxy was a bit close to home… that and the panda suit photo shoot.
Yes, bamboo bikes are often made with epoxy and linen/hemp or similar in a weave like a carbon lay-up.
I’ve built a bamboo fatbike in 2016 and it’s going strong, though I don’t ride like Mr Pilgrim.
