Bicycle Maker Grows Sustainable Bikes Made of Bamboo

It just might be the ultimate in eco-friendly bicycles: frames grown in a field out of a highly renewable material that doesn’t require pesticides or fertilizer, and needs very little water.  Bicycle maker Craig Calfee, based in Santa Cruz, California, creates made-to-order bicycles with frames that are grown bonsai-style, coerced into the desired shape while they’re growing.  The result is strong, earthy-looking, highly-sought-after bikes that go for $2,700 a pop.

From Wired:

To increase production and improve design, Craig is experimenting with growing bamboo into pre-formed shapes in the field.

By forcing the bamboo to grow through carefully placed barriers, the naturally straight plant grows with the bends and curves he needs for frames and other components.

Calfee said he’s experimenting with a limited number of plants, but can envision fields full of bamboo. “It’s like mass production,” he said. “A factory in a field. You can have row after row of bamboo growing into the right structures for bike frames.”

According to Calfee, bamboo is an ideal material for bicycles: It’s stronger and lighter than most metals, but absorbs road vibration much better.

“It’s tougher than metal,” he said. “It takes impact very well.”

The bamboo frame tubes are held together with a hemp epoxy composite, which is made of long strips of hemp fiber soaked in epoxy.  The result is organic, tough and super durable.   Calfee claims that the bike offers better performance than traditional aluminum bikes.

Another beautiful blend of high-tech and low-tech… the effect of the bamboo and hemp paired with carbon fiber and titanium components is striking.  It seems like, over time, this concept could be applied as a low-cost solution to transportation in third world countries – production costs would probably go down as the manufacturing becomes more efficient.  Oh, the possibilities of green tech!

Link [Wired] + [Calfee Design]