Working with Flax — Hints and Tips

Context

Flax fibre is the natural composite that holds a Bamboo Bicycle Club frame together. Instead of metal lugs, each tube junction is wrapped in woven flax fabric and set in bio-epoxy resin — a strong, lightweight, repairable joint, made almost entirely from plant-based materials. It is the traditional BBC method, taught in our workshops and supplied in our flax build kits.

What we did

The flax process is a wet layup. Woven flax is cut, wrapped around each joint and fully saturated with bio-epoxy, layer by layer, working the air out as you go before the next layer goes on. A peel-ply finish leaves a cleaner surface to sand. After cure and post-cure, the joint is sanded smooth, then primed, painted and lacquered. Done well, the flax weave stays faintly visible beneath the finish — the signature of a hand-built frame.

Working tips that hold true for any flax build:

• Keep your fibre dry and store offcuts sealed.
• Use a low-viscosity bio-epoxy so the resin fully wets the weave.
• Saturate each layer completely before adding the next, and work the bubbles out.
• A peel-ply wrap gives a tidier surface to finish.
• Let the joint cure fully before sanding, and keep the workspace warm during cure.

For exact layer counts, cure times and finishing grits, follow the build guide and instructions supplied with your BBC kit — those are the authoritative figures for your specific frame.

The result

A bamboo frame joined entirely with flax and bio-resin: no metal lugs, natural fibres in place of more energy-intensive materials, and a finish that shows the maker's hand. BBC supplies everything the method needs — the flax fabric, the bio-epoxy and the flax-build tooling.

In their words

"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 is grown, not mined — it locks up carbon as it grows and regrows in 3–5 years. The flax-and-bio-resin joining method keeps that whole material story honest: natural fibre, plant-based resin, hand tools, and a joint you can see was made by a person.

Links

• Flax build materials: Biotex Flax Fibre 2/2 Twill · Eco Epoxy (LB2 bio resin) · Frame Tool Kit for Flax Build
• See also: BBC's lug- and flax-wrapping tutorials on the Bamboo Bicycle Club YouTube channel

Want to build your own? See our bamboo bike frame kits.