Gravel Bike by Stephen

Design: Gravel Bike
Build: Large Gravel Bike
Location: Yorkshire, UK

What made you decide to build a bamboo bike?

As a cycle mechanic I get to see all bikes styles. I do get a little frustrated on the origin of the bike frames. Even though the cycles have source country's in Europe, USA and the UK I always get to see that the "Made in" label says on the frame. You won't be surprised to know the majority come from the far East. So I wanted to show my customers what can be built on a budget with green friendly materials sourced in the UK.

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

I thrived on building the bike, in fact I delayed repairing a couple of customers bikes in order crack on with my own build.

What did you find most difficult about your bike build?

Stopping on an evening and having to clean up after myself. I created a lot of sanding dust and overspray mess.

What was the easiest part of the build?

Cutting the bamboo, I had thoughts in my mind that it would be difficult to cut through, it wasn't! I found it similar to MDF to cut.

How would you describe the ride of your finished bike?

Surprisingly good. I took it down my usual test ride route which is an unmaintained road along a canal. Never felt the usual road noise through my body which made the bike unbelievably nippy.

What would you improve about the build experience or your finished bike?

I'd have liked to have got my bamboo laminations slightly smoother, not that you notice looking at the bike, but I know they are there.

Build your own: Our Gravel Frame Build Kit has the materials and step-by-step instructions to build your own bamboo gravel frame at home. Or browse all our bamboo bike frame kits.