Cyclist bamboozles all with his bicycle of grass

But if you want something unique that will turn heads, this is the way to go.

True to his forestry roots, Sappi’s nursery manager, Leigh Williams, likes everything bio-friendly, including his bamboo bike.

The frame was made in Zambia by a company called ZamBikes, started in 2007 by a group of American missionaries who saw the market and a product that could be built using bamboo.

The frames were shipped around the world by various companies which distributed them to Europe, USA, Canada and Japan.

Their distribution in Southern Africa was done by a company called Zamboosa.

Williams studied forestry and was still in contact with an old classmate who now works in Zambia. “He is a crazy cyclist and has participated in numerous Cape Epics, Sani2c and other events. He told me about a bicycle of his that was made from a bamboo frame and this piqued my interest. He rode the 2013 Sani2c on a 29er with a fixed fork single-speed bamboo-framed bicycle,” said Williams.

The bamboo is dried and cured in a kiln and then cut to size according to specific geometric designs. The sections of the bicycle are joined together using a combination of hemp, sisal and glue. The headset, seat post and bottom bracket sections are drilled out and sized accordingly, and an aluminium insert pushed into the recess. One would pay around R7 000 for the frame which is handmade and it only takes three to four days to build after the bamboo has been selected.

“I stripped the 26er MTB bicycle that I had at the time and built it over onto the frame. This was quite a rushed job that we did in an afternoon and evening to be able to do the Wartburg Classic MTB race in KwaZulu-Natal the next day. I have been using this bicycle for the past 18 months now and have had no problems.”

What is the difference between a regular bicycle and one of bamboo?

The most obvious difference is the material used for the frame – a natural product versus man-made (carbon, aluminium or steel alloy). What many people don’t know is that bamboo is actually a member of the grass family and not a tree, so you are riding on a piece of grass.

The frame is heavier than a normal one and weighs in at 2,7 to 3,2 kilograms. The way to go is to build the bicycle up using lighter materials – wheel rims, tyres, steering bars, and drive trains as a means of lessening the total weight of the bicycle and offset the weight of the frame. Williams’ bicycle weighs about 12,7 kilograms at the moment with plans to get lighter wheel rims in the future.