live-cycle

I was browsing through some photos that came in on the news wires last week and was struck by this inventive chap in India.
I thought his idea was quite novel, but a search on Google shows that bamboo bikes are not all that new or original. In fact, you can get them custom built with carbon or alloy joints, but the most amazing one that I came across was put together with epoxy and hemp fibre. The makers all rave about how eco-friendly they are, and how cheap and readily available the raw product is. But looking at the price of them, though, I reckon the manufacturers are being a bit disingenuous. The raw material may be cheap, but I don’t see them as being a source of inexpensive transport in poor countries.
Apparently the ride is good, with great ability to absorb vibration. The bikes themselves look super as a fashion accessory, and are perhaps great for the road … but for a big off-road downhill, I’m not so sure.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Dennis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.