[Closed] New bike day - just need to build it....

That looks amazing. Great work sir!

I must admit, I winced a bit when I saw those threaded inserts. Hideous course threads on them combined with the hardness of bamboo 😯
Glad you got away with them. You can get versions of them with much finer threads which can just be epoxied in.

Fantastic build. Really interesting stuff.
🙂

Ohhh the rear tyre clearance is a bugger.

Jekkyl - it's not so bad when slotted back in the dropouts a little...

New cyclocross fork on order - it's a bit of a bugger finding an affordable 1&1/8 straight steerer disc cyclocross fork. China to the rescue so if the frame doesn't kill me, the fork will!

Looking pretty fabulous, glad to hear about all your problems and issues faced so far. I've really enjoyed reading and looking at the pics,

Still bonkers, but now looking more like a bike.

It's a bit of a way of yet, but when do you expect the first ride on it ?

I'm hoping to get some sort of shakedown test over the weekend - just waiting on the bottom braket to turn up.
After that it'll all come apart again for final finishing and varnish - already had to do some sand in to get the disc to fit (also around 1mm clearances). I'll need to either go up to 160mm (if i can) or change the disc mount possition completely to get around the wheel removal issue.

Started to build it up last night so expect a full update at some point in the weekend.

The rear break will definatly have to change to a 160mm rotor if I can get it to fit in the frame - the caliper fouls the seatstay IS brake mount AT the moment.

I'd also bought a lindrets tan pan : [url= http://www.lindarets.com/tanpan ]link[/url] to reduce the throw of the dia comp shifter, but this doesn't work with my cable routing so i'm undesided if ill use it. It also gives less acurate shifting with the unindexed thumb shifter...

I need to sort out the chain alignment with the deore chainset as its about 4 or 5mm over to the right at the moment - kinda for got about this when i swapped the road chainset for it - i'll make sone spacers up from old chainrings...

Ta Daa

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So, how does it ride?

So, how does it ride?

Irrelevant. How quickly do runner beans grow up it, that's what I want to know!

It's very comfortable & smooth - however I can't 'put the power down' as the tyre buzzes the chainstays at the mo... This will be sorted by some tensioners (I only did a couple of 100 yrds).

No sign of runner beans yet 😀

Other issues include not quite getting into 10th gear as it's fouling the seat stay joint. Other than that it's spot on.

With all those issues you should take it back and get a warranty replacement.

Nah - there all simple fixes 🙂
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Sorry. I have to say this has been one of my favourite STW threads. The bike looks great. Well done you.

😀 glad to hear it....
Although reading back through some of my posts I really should start using the laptop more - predictive text and adding photos etc causes too many mistakes.

Still not finished & already planning mkII.

That is kinda cool.

I want to ask if the ride is a bit wooden? But will get flamed,

Most Eco bike on STW ever.

Excellent!

You've done a great job, clearly there will be tweaks a plenty but now we'd all like to know a) how it rides and b) where/what terrain you'll ride it on.

8)

Looks cool AF.

I'm just doing n-3 as well, so would like to build one of these!

Dunno about Eco....

Frame kit came from China and there's a lot of Epoxy involved.

The brief ride I had this afternoon was good - it rides like any other bike but the stays (and big rear tyre) take up a fair bit of road buzz.

It's still only part way to finished - on the list to do now are:

• mark out and fit a front mech direct mount (fir a chain device, or front mech if I want to fit one in the future)
• sorting out the chain clearances.
• sort out the chain alignment
• cable routing for the rear break along the chainstay, could use the sugru?
• chainstay protection - either sugru or leather?
• then a full 100% strip down.
• finishing the 250 grit sanding and finishing (my dremel gave up the ghost last week so I didn't get to do this)
• complete clean of the frame followed by some sort of clear gel coat to the joints.
• mount the head badge
• final finish to apply to the bamboo - I'm thinking wax at the moment.
• the a rebuild with the new fork.

a) how it rides and b) where/what terrain you'll ride it on.

As for a) see above...
b) a bit of everything, road, some local gravel, Cranham woods maybe? I'm sure I'll also take it to Swinley next time I'm in the area.

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Nice job!

Nothing better than that first ride on a raw unfinished home made frame. I always seem to end up using the same route of little roads and tracks (i.e. not too far from home....) I'll hopefully be trying a gash build of my (boring old steel) CX frame this week.

It is always the little things you learn with each frame - cable guides, fork, disc, crank and tyre clearances. All of which means you'll soon end up making another one. And another.... 🙂

Just mounted the chain device.
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I'm hoping it'll stay stuck!
Also took off the chain tensioner on the wife's bike (she won't notice). But had to mod it into a spacer to stop the wheel sliding all the way forward into the dropouts.
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I've only one so i'll have to see how it holds.

Right it's all dry, spacer is in and I just did a couple of miles around the block with a bit through a field thrown in....

It rides great. I had to stop a couple of times to get the rear wheel sitting true as ive only spacer in one side so when you put any serious power down It drags the wheel into the stay. Too be honest ill probably just run 28c's for now (I've a couple on order).

As for the ride - great. I've only experience of carbon road bikes which I've always found very harsh. The bamboo really does soak up the bumps - I'll have to see how much a difference running a 28c tyre makes.

I may end up putting a 90mm stem on there as well - it's a little stretched when on the drops. Especially when on the rough stuff (could be the mtb'r in me talking). But for a first ride it was great.

With regards to the slipping dropout I'd thoroughly recommend getting a shimano qr in there and really cranking it down tight. I've run singlespeeds with one chain tug and a shimano qr and it works fine.

Right, just been able to do a little more:
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Fitted the Sugru to the chainstay.

And ended up going with a wax finnish rather than gel coat or similar. I've ended up using wax as it'll be easier to make any adjustments to the frame at a later date. It'll mean a constant replication to protect the frame, and the UK block won't be very good (epoxy degrades in sunlight) but this is a first / trial build so I'm not that fussed.
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Also got the 'head badge' fitted.
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Oh and my new phone made a video 😀

Love it! Such a good job.

Cheers, Steve

Looks great!

Just get a couple of chain tugs OP and keep those tyres, suits the bike.

Thanks.

Some Chain tugs are in the post as are some 28c tyres (I was hoping they'd arrive today so I could get out on a proper ride). I'll keep the 35c's for when the new fork arrives.

First 25mile shake down complete!

And 8months without a road bike has made me massively unfit! Really should get out more.

I went for a quick loop Birdlip > Painswick > Stroud and back again. This gave me the chance to stick in a bit of single track (Cranham Woods), and a bit of gravel through Painswick Beacon.

It was a bit strange on the first few miles as the bars put you on the drops most of the time. My initial thoughts are that bamboo makes a great endurance / gravel frame material - very little Road buzz. However predictably it's not the best sprinter - but this could be improved with a different chainstay yolk design and wrap as well as component choice.

Ill reserved judgment on the single track until I have 35c tyres on but initially on hard pack stuff it's great, on damp roots and rocks not so much, 28c slicks at the moment.

When I got to Painswick Beacon I took the opportunity to go up and over the gravel path. There's a golf course next to the beacon and 300yards up the road I had a blow out on the rear - a 'shotgun like' BANG just as some one was teeing off!!
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Took a little longer to change than normal due to the set up and had to take it easy on the grass afterwards.
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A little break and I took the road down to Stroud. I didn't want to push it on the decent as the roads aren't great, but it's quite a solid bike.

On the road from Stroud it really showed how little buzz gets transferred through the bamboo. The thumb shifter was good too - I can change gear without move my hand position using the heal of the palm of my hand.
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Can someone stick a link to this thread in the comments section of the story on the home page?
Thanks

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Cx mode initiated.
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Still having issues with hard braking dragging the rear wheel in to the stays..

Right - properly sorted now. Swapped the rear qr with a Halo Hex Lock (picked from Slam69 Yesterday) and it's sorted.
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Quick 10mile blast this morning with a bit through Cranham Woods.

Right it's been four months so I thought I'd do a quick update....

Not been out on the bike as much as I'd like as I've been on the fat bike a fair bit this year and not had a big Road trip planned. It's only done around 100miles or so as a result.

It's by far the most comfortable Road bike I've ever swung a leg over - although I've not tried that many. The bamboo soaks up vibration like no other material, but this inerrant 'twangyness' has a down side - I've settled on 30c cyclo-cross tyres and even with these when stamping on the pedals I can get the tyre to rub the chainstay. But it's rare that I need to 'put the power down' on this bike, as I'm using it as a gentle excuse for a Road ride mixed with the occasional gravel/bridal way link.

Now for the big issue, if I lock the rear wheel with the back disc brake the forces twist the wheel in the horizontal dropouts. This sometimes jambs the wheel against the non drive side chain stay. I've used Halo Hex Lock qr's to rectify this and some chain tensioners but it still happens every now and again.

I do have plans for a mk2 still, but a bit of a life style change this month means it'll have to wait for a while.