Bicycles are the best way to get around. They are the most efficient and the funnest and they are pretty cheap and way better than walking. If you have a tail wind or if you are going downhill it doesn’t even take any energy to drive one. Even though bicycles are this cool they still have a few problems. The worst problem is flat tires; the second worst problem about bicycles is all the unrecyclable and energy intensive materials they take to create. However, the bamboo bicycle has come to right these wrongs, well at least the sustainability one, sadly bamboo tire technology has not been developed. It turns out that the natural strength and rigidity that allows bamboo to grow so tall also comes in handy for bicycle frame construction. By replacing the metal or composite tubes that a bicycle frame normally uses one can create a super low carbon footprint bicycle frame.
This technology is not necessarily new but in recent times it has become viable as a durable replacement for traditional metal construction. Bamboo bicycle frames have coexisted with metal bicycle frames since the bicycles inception. However their fragile nature has relegated them to the sidelines. In the past they were always assembles with rigid metal joints that would wear away at the soft bamboo tubes until the failed. Modern bicycles frames made from bamboo use a high strength fiber like hemp and a strong adhesive binder to join the tubes. These connections are very similar to the bamboo in strength and ductility thus allowing the frame to last much longer. The pioneer in this kind of construction is Calfee bicycles.
A lot of thought seems to be going into transportation lately, more specifically making it more efficient. The bicycle is already crazy efficient and can be made from green materials easily. IF we figure out that flat tire thing the car is going to go the way of the dinosaur, fossilized.
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