Beyond Bradfield: building bamboo bikes in the design workshop

When a design teacher decides the best way to learn about sustainable materials is to build a real bicycle from cane, the workshop stops being a classroom and starts being a maker's bench.

The challenge

Design and technology lessons can stay abstract: students sketch, model and move on, rarely making something they can ride. Nick Mills, Head of Design at Bradfield College, wanted his students to work with a genuine renewable material and take a project from drawing to finished object. He had built his own bamboo frame in 2020, so he knew first-hand what the process asks of a maker.

What we did

Bamboo Bicycle Club founder James Marr worked with Nick Mills to bring the build into Bradfield's design department, in a programme they called "Beyond Bradfield" — a collaboration between Bradfield Design and the Bamboo Bicycle Club. Students design and build a bicycle frame from bamboo and natural composites, learning the full sequence a frame demands: frame design, setting up the build jig, working with bamboo and natural composite materials, and the bicycle maintenance and safe-riding knowledge that turns a frame into something you can trust on the road. Bradfield set it up not as a one-off but as something to share — the workshop is extended to other schools as part of the college's wider community outreach.

Outcome

The programme takes a frame from a pile of canes to a rideable bicycle, giving students hands-on experience with a renewable material and the engineering thinking behind it — design, jig work, composites and assembly, all in one project. Bradfield frames it as a gateway into real engineering challenges rather than a single craft exercise.

In their words

"I am thrilled about the collaboration between Bradfield Design and the Bamboo Bicycle Club. This partnership not only allows us to delve into the fascinating world of sustainable design but also provides students with a unique hands-on experience. Crafting bamboo bicycles goes beyond the workshop; it's a journey of innovation, environmental responsibility, and the integration of STEM principles. Together, we are pedalling towards a future where sustainable design is not just a choice but a way of life."

>

— Nick Mills, Head of Design, Bradfield College

Why it matters

This is what our education work is built for: putting a real, renewable material in students' hands and letting them make something that works. Since 2012 we've trained more than 4,000 builders in over 36 countries, and school programmes like Beyond Bradfield are how the next generation of makers learns that sustainability isn't a slogan — it's a thing you can build.

Proof and links

• Bradfield College blog: "Introducing the Bamboo Bicycle Club" (Beyond Bradfield) — https://www.bradfieldcollege.org.uk/blog/bradfieldian_article/introducing-the-bamboo-bicycle-club/
• Programme led by Nick Mills, Head of Design, Bradfield College, with James Marr, Bamboo Bicycle Club founder
• Note: the old live article title ("New schools race event hosted at Bradfield College") is not supported by the source — there was no race, no student count, no budget and no gravel bikes in Bradfield's own write-up. Those were stripped.