CDog
new member
Reged: 03/01/06
Posts: 1
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Just wondering why? I am in the market for a new frame, was leaning towards the Tetra Pro but upon further review by the replay offical (web surfing re: carbon), I have found that the age old question of carbon vs. Titanium and Carbon Mnf A vs. Carbon Mnf B is still unanswered. So why is Calfee investing valuable R&D $$ in Bamboo Dev?
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 720
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
CDog wrote:
Just wondering why? I am in the market for a new frame, was leaning towards the Tetra Pro but upon further review by the replay offical (web surfing re: carbon), I have found that the age old question of carbon vs. Titanium and Carbon Mnf A vs. Carbon Mnf B is still unanswered. So why is Calfee investing valuable R&D $$ in Bamboo Dev?
Not being a smart a$$ answer, but why not? Craig Calfee has an inventive mind and I'm sure that one of the questions he asks himself is: "I wonder if that would work?" Have you seen one? It's a beauty! I understand they ride quite nicely.
With the Luna, Tetra, Dragonfly and Stiletto, Calfee pretty well has the Carbon spectrum covered. The bikes speak for themselves and the Bamboo just adds to the statement, IMO.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Thanks Dave.
PLUS read his web site. He explains all his reasons well including it started as building just in house and everyone loved them.
Unlike large companies with marketing department BS at their sites everything at his site are his thoughts and words. There is not a more honest or honorable person in any business. I learned this through personal experience so please no flaming and no argurments. He is awesome.
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Oh by the way if you are interested in carbon you won't find anything but raves and praise from Calfee owners on their bike's performance. It was true on the old phorum and here as well. Lemond still rides two Calfees, a Fly and a Fly tandem.
Also if where the bikes are made, how carefully, handmade or not is an issue for you Calfee is a great choice. If a Far Eastern wonder bike is no problem then I 'd guess you could not count this. The reason Craig advertises carbon repairs in Velo now is there really isn't anywhere else to go to try to get a carbon bike fixed. Calfees are rebuildable after an accident that I hope you or anyone else never has.
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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One more thing...
For some it would not be a first bike. I know it is my next bike if I ever hit the "big time." Guess what Dave...I think I'd go Record carbon since it would go so well with the colors of the carbon. Wow...that rangs right up there with you and your most recent choice.
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Could you clarify something? If it were for medicine or something along those lines, then R&D dollars should be spent for best results. In making something like a bike, fence or house, or whatever, it's the creative juices a person puts into it. What does it matter what Craig Calfee puts his money into? It's his to spend the way he wants.
As far as the debate on materials, that is all it is, debate. In my opinion it's no different than religion because the way some people feel about their material of choice, anything else is not as good. In the real world there are multiple ways to achieve the goal of designing a machine. And a bicycle is a machine. A bicycle is not a simple machine, though. Because it is complex there are unlimited ways of designing one.
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Nev
captain
Reged: 05/03/04
Posts: 376
Loc: Never where I want to be
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To be fair, there have been some important safety concerns and issues raised with the bamboo bike. Most notably serious consequences experienced when ridden in panda country, with the natual oils in black bamboo combined with the colorful lycra of the riders arrousing in the bears an overly amorous reaction.
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 720
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
Nev wrote:
To be fair, there have been some important safety concerns and issues raised with the bamboo bike. Most notably serious consequences experienced when ridden in panda country, with the natual oils in black bamboo combined with the colorful lycra of the riders arrousing in the bears an overly amorous reaction.
Now that's a scary image!
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Here is a much better answer as to why Craig Calfee is putting research dollars into bamboo bikes. I had a conversation with him at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show today. Bamboo, unlike any other bike material, is a renewable resource; it grows without needing human cultivation. It's a natural product. It takes much less energy to dry the bamboo, select it, then bond it together than it does to mine ore, process it, refine it and smelt it, then process it into metal tubes to be welded or brazed into a bike frame. Aluminum takes prodigious amounts of electricity to melt the ore and purify it. Titanium is astronomical in price because of all the chemical steps it takes to turn it into a useable metal. Carbon fiber is pyrolized from fiber made from plastics produced from hydrocarbons in an energy-intensive proces; then fibers are woven and combined with epoxy then futher processed into tubes and shapes used in a bike.
I saw a white bamboo bike Craig had made with the tubes bonded using bamboo fibers. It is a light, strong, stiff bike that used natural products for the most part. It's a greener product, in that sense.
The real answer to the question is why wouldn't anyone put research into using renewable resources in a bike?
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