Design: Road bike
Build: Road home build kit
Location: Stornoway, U.K.

What made you decide to build a bamboo bike?

The kit was given to me as a gift from my daughter and grandson

Did you enjoy building the bicycle from scratch and would you recommend the experience?

Building the bike was an amazing project. I took my time, spending a hour or so in the evenings shaping each piece of bamboo. Hemp and resin binding was all done together. The amount that I learned about bike building, components was huge.

What did you find most difficult about your bike build?

Shaping the seat stays where quite tricky as was setting up the chain stays.

What was the easiest part of the build?

Everything went well, some bits just more challenging than others. There was good support from James over the phone

What advice would you give to other bamboo bike builders and what would you improve if anything?

Think big with what you can do with your finished bike. These frames are capable of anything. The clearance on the rear triangle turned out very tight and the chain line is not the best on the way my frame turned out a bit is still a joy to ride.

How would you describe the ride of your finished bike?

Going out on a bike I made myself is a joy and can't help but make you smile. It is a continual conversation piece with bikers and none bikers. The ride is very comfortable and 2 years on is still going strong.