Adam's Flax-Lug Bamboo Build

Context

Adam is one of Bamboo Bicycle Club's recurring home builders, with road, gravel and cargo frames to his name. For this build he chose BBC's traditional method: the flax-fibre lug.

What we did

Instead of bonding the tubes into pre-formed lugs, the flax method hand-wraps every tube joint in layers of woven flax fabric set in bio-epoxy resin. It is slower and more demanding — wet layup, working the bubbles out, peel-ply finish, cure, post-cure sanding, then primer, paint and lacquer. The reward is a joint with the flax weave visible beneath the surface: a frame that is unmistakably handmade.

The result

A complete bamboo frame built with the traditional flax-lug technique — the same hand-wrapping approach BBC has taught since its earliest workshops, and the method behind its long-running lug tutorials.

In their words

"Bamboo is said to have ideal properties for bike construction with its 'excellent vibration dampening effects', resistance to stress and durability." — road.cc, December 2020

Why it matters

Bamboo gives a frame natural vibration damping that aluminium and carbon fibre cannot replicate, for a more comfortable ride over distance. Bamboo also has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Bamboo is grown, not mined — it locks up carbon as it grows and regrows in 3–5 years. The flax-lug method takes that further: hand tools, natural fibre and bio-resin, with the maker's work visible in every joint.

Watch Adam's build

Adam filmed his build in ten parts, from jig set-up to sanding and finishing, on his YouTube channel.

Part 1: Jig set up and seat tube shaping

Part 2: Cutting miters for down tube and gluing seat tube insert

Part 3: Top tube cutting and front triangle joint preparation

Part 4: Drilling for internal routing and tacking front triangle

Part 5: Forming the rear triangle

Part 6: Bottom bracket wrapping

Part 7: Seat tube joint wrapping

Part 8: Dropout wrapping

Part 9: Head tube wrapping

Part 10: Sanding and finishing the frame

Links

• Flax build materials: Biotex Flax Fibre 2/2 Twill · Flax Bundle with Bamboo and Resins · Frame Tool Kit for Flax Build
• See also: BBC's lug-wrapping tutorials on the Bamboo Bicycle Club YouTube channel

Build your own: Adam built this road frame with the flax method. Our Road Frame Build Kit has the materials and step-by-step instructions to build your own bamboo road frame at home. Or browse all our bamboo bike frame kits.