As I have toured the back roads, highways, beaches and parking lots in my bamboo bike, countless people have asked me to build them one or even sell them the one I was riding. I have spent hours talking to interested people, explaining the basics of building their own bike. Only recently, as the requests are getting more numerous have I decided the best way to share my bamboo bike building knowledge with those who want to embark on their own projects is in the form of this blog. This blog is intended to be a two-way communications tool, questions and answers, input from sources around the world. Dedicated to providing bike building experience, resources, and bamboo knowledge, in hopes that more people can build a HPV as I did and enjoy the results in an environmentally responsible manner.
If you happen to click on to this blog, please mark it as a favorite and check back often, as this blog will grow to include more pages of information as it becomes available and as questions are received and answered by me and other contributors.
If you happen to click on to this blog, please mark it as a favorite and check back often, as this blog will grow to include more pages of information as it becomes available and as questions are received and answered by me and other contributors.
First, A little History
For the past 5 years I have been building 4 wheel HPV (that's Human Powered Vehicles. Technically "bike" refers to a bicycle, or 2 wheel cycle, however I will use HPV and bike interchangeably) and have enjoyed a great means of exercise and practical transportation. I take my "bike" to the grocery store, the pharmacy, to the beach, the bank and even through the drive thru window at McDonalds. When my options are within two miles or so of home, the car stays in the driveway
My bike building started as somewhat of a necessity after a botched hip replacement surgery left my left leg pretty much dysfunctional. A revision surgery didn't help that much and months and months of physical therapy failed to improve my condition. As an active person, the thought of sitting on the couch was not an option.
My attempts at riding a conventional 2-wheel bike were a disaster as I could not come to a stop safely with only one functional leg. While browsing the web, I happen upon several sites which featured 4-wheel HVPs. The light bulb went off - I could still enjoy the outdoors, get my exercise, and not fall down and go boom. The really nice ones were fairly expensive - $4000 or so, and the home made one made of PVC pipe was way too fragile for a 240 pound man like me.
I knew that if I put my mind to it, I could build a better HPV at less expense. My major problem was that I did not have a metal working shop and didn't know how to weld steel. That was OK with me as steel framed HVP weighed in at over 100 lbs. on the websites I viewed. My first solution was to turn to aluminum, it was easier to cut and drill than steel and I could work it with hand tools. I would bolt it together to see if it worked and I could have it professionally welded at a later date if I chose. Note that after 4 years, the bolted together bike is still good as new and welding was not even necessary. Horary for the home handyman working in the garage.
My first attempt at an aluminum framed HPV utilized an aluminum ladder frame from my garage and PVC pipes to hold up a surrey top. I even went so far as to make it a two seat bike so my wife and I could enjoy biking together. By golly, it worked! I even added a red cooler to the back to haul groceries. There were a few limitations however. First it was too wide to navigate all of the sidewalks, especially where newspaper boxes or street signs shared the sidewalk. Secondly, I only had one speed, fairly slow. Buoyed by my first success, I went about the second generation, 2 seater. This time made with structural aluminum components ,a little narrower, and with a 5-speed shifter for both improved hill climbing in low gear and more top end cruising speed in high. I hit a home run with this one and my wife and I still ride it today on a very regular basis.
After two years of racking up the miles on the new bike, I realized that there where times that I rode alone and was pushing the extra weight of a 2-person HPV, so I embarked on a new project to simply build a smaller, lighter one person version. However aluminum was running over $7 per linear foot and I was on a limited budget. Steel was cheaper, however I did not want that added weight. Hardwoods were even more costly and pine would simply not hold up structurally. While sitting on my back patio, I realized that I had a small stand of bamboo growing in my own backyard. Bamboo by reputation was as strong as steel and as light as aluminum, and as an added benefit could be worked with standard woodworking tools. My next generation HPV was born. The resulting bike is a joy to ride and is truly a green solution to personal transportation as bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world and of course bikes are non-polluting. 
