Friday, July 3, 2009

Let me ride

Well I got an email today from one of my triathlon buddies, informing me about bamboo bikes! It seems that bamboo is strong enough to make road bike frames and even mountain bike frames.



You will notice that these bikes are not entirely constructed from bamboo and require- additional carbon or aluminum parts, but I still love the idea of substituting artificial man made parts with one of nature’s strongest plant. I think these bikes are really beautiful on an aesthetic level, but am really sold on the fact that they work as well—if not better than carbon bikes!




After doing some research I stumbled across the website of Brano Meres, a very skilled mechanical engineer, photographer and freelance industrial designer (you can see why he might find it difficult to find enough time in the day for all his projects). The images shown here are his creations and you will want to read his website, which not only discusses how he makes them but also gives updates to the condition of the bike as he rode it over a period of 5 years. I have a lot of respect for those who can merge beauty and functionality together so well.


The story that started my search of bamboo bikes here and one other blog story here.

"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.”

- Emo Philips

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