Comments on: Bicycle Maker Grows Sustainable Bikes Made of Bamboo http://earthfirst.com/bicycle-maker-grows-sustainable-bikes-made-of-bamboo/ A Sharp Eye -- With a Green Edge Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:35:39 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: allota Fagina http://earthfirst.com/bicycle-maker-grows-sustainable-bikes-made-of-bamboo/comment-page-1/#comment-4576 allota Fagina Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:20:14 +0000 http://earthfirst.com/?p=2365#comment-4576 this is not eco, the first bikes were built with wooden frames, nothing eco about it, the tires are rubber manufactured tired, and manufactured bike parts, how can a manufacturing process be considered "eco"???? have you ever known any manufacturing process that did not polute? this is not eco, the first bikes were built with wooden frames, nothing eco about it, the tires are rubber manufactured tired, and manufactured bike parts, how can a manufacturing process be considered “eco”???? have you ever known any manufacturing process that did not polute?

]]> By: allota Fagina http://earthfirst.com/bicycle-maker-grows-sustainable-bikes-made-of-bamboo/comment-page-1/#comment-4575 allota Fagina Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:17:02 +0000 http://earthfirst.com/?p=2365#comment-4575 How is Epoxy green??? and non recycled rubber tires and metals "green"? The transportation CO2 emitions of the boat that brings the bamboo from taiwan,,,how in the hell is any of this green???Not to mention the amount of electricity and electric power tools used to build this over-priced bicycle. Its a fine idea, but i wouldnt call it "green". Maybe some yuppie lawyer living in suburbia might feel a little pride knowing hes being "green" riding this, but it doesnt fool anyone else How is Epoxy green??? and non recycled rubber tires and metals “green”? The transportation CO2 emitions of the boat that brings the bamboo from taiwan,,,how in the hell is any of this green???Not to mention the amount of electricity and electric power tools used to build this over-priced bicycle. Its a fine idea, but i wouldnt call it “green”. Maybe some yuppie lawyer living in suburbia might feel a little pride knowing hes being “green” riding this, but it doesnt fool anyone else

]]> By: Mark Livingood http://earthfirst.com/bicycle-maker-grows-sustainable-bikes-made-of-bamboo/comment-page-1/#comment-3754 Mark Livingood Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:12:42 +0000 http://earthfirst.com/?p=2365#comment-3754 Calfee presently sources its Bamboo for the commercial product line from Taiwan. Appended below is an extract from an interview hosted at: http://www.sprig.com/experts/156/output/print ------------------------ In what ways are your bamboo bikes "green"? The bikes are made with bamboo and hemp fiber. Those are the top two fibers that can be produced from bad soil. Both are quickly renewable resources—bamboo takes about three years to grow new and hemp only one. We get our hemp from Romania, which has an old tradition of making hemp rope and fabric, and our bamboo comes from Taiwan. In Taiwan, the bamboo is smoked, which is a pretty interesting way to preserve things. The bamboo sequesters the carbon from the smoke rather than polluting the air, so the process is carbon neutral. It's similar to smoking fish. The process kills all the microbes and insects in the bamboo and stabilizes the moisture content. That means the bamboo won't rot or split. The bamboo bike gets people to think about using natural materials, and it's a good bike to have if you're sociable, because people stop to talk to you about it all the time. And of course the bamboo bicycle is green because it's non-polluting, the same as any bike. Calfee presently sources its Bamboo for the commercial product line from Taiwan. Appended below is an extract from an interview hosted at: http://www.sprig.com/experts/156/output/print

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In what ways are your bamboo bikes “green”?

The bikes are made with bamboo and hemp fiber. Those are the top two fibers that can be produced from bad soil. Both are quickly renewable resources—bamboo takes about three years to grow new and hemp only one. We get our hemp from Romania, which has an old tradition of making hemp rope and fabric, and our bamboo comes from Taiwan. In Taiwan, the bamboo is smoked, which is a pretty interesting way to preserve things. The bamboo sequesters the carbon from the smoke rather than polluting the air, so the process is carbon neutral. It’s similar to smoking fish. The process kills all the microbes and insects in the bamboo and stabilizes the moisture content. That means the bamboo won’t rot or split. The bamboo bike gets people to think about using natural materials, and it’s a good bike to have if you’re sociable, because people stop to talk to you about it all the time. And of course the bamboo bicycle is green because it’s non-polluting, the same as any bike.

]]> By: Ben Carmichael http://earthfirst.com/bicycle-maker-grows-sustainable-bikes-made-of-bamboo/comment-page-1/#comment-3745 Ben Carmichael Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:09:08 +0000 http://earthfirst.com/?p=2365#comment-3745 This is a beautiful bike - and different than the one they've been making for a long time. It's a great idea, and the use of bamboo in such instances seems to have a lot of potential - both pragmatically, and stylistically. I only wish I had more info on sourcing of the bamboo. Does anyone know where it comes from? I wrote about this concern, and my support of the bike, a while ago. You can find it here: http://tinyurl.com/4qeau5 Best, Ben This is a beautiful bike – and different than the one they’ve been making for a long time. It’s a great idea, and the use of bamboo in such instances seems to have a lot of potential – both pragmatically, and stylistically. I only wish I had more info on sourcing of the bamboo. Does anyone know where it comes from?

I wrote about this concern, and my support of the bike, a while ago. You can find it here: http://tinyurl.com/4qeau5

Best,
Ben

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