Re: Comparing my Bamboo Pro to my Luna Pro: Bikefanclub.com

Thanks Bruce. I've been working on my little review for while and it feels good to have it written down in a way that kinda sums up my overall impressions.

As far as how it feel when out of the saddle: I notice the flex in the BB area when standing and stomping the pedals. My mechanic is a very light guy and he noticed the flex as well when he's test ridden it.

I would offer this thought. To a rider who hasn't ever really ridden the bamboo the flex might be a bit weird at first, but if you have ridden the bike over various surfaces and get the feel of how it handles its a very natural and normal thing.

I think what took me a long time to write up my review was trying to find the right words to use when talking about the flex of the frame.

The way I talk about the flex might lead one to believe the frame is bending all over the place. It doesn't. But if you are the type of rider willing to buy such a bike chances are you are pretty in tune with how your current bike(s) handle and feel. I struggled to come up with a way to talk about the flex and comfort the bike provides without scaring folks into thinking the bike is wild or unnatural. The bike is very natural and is so ideal for long distance type riding it actually feels MORE natural than a carbon or metal bike. It's like the bike becomes a more natural extension of the cyclist almost.

Shorter rides and even fast ride are still perfectly fine with this bike, it's just the type of short rides I am doing these days are extremely fast and kinda dangerous which goes back to my review and the reason why I don't want to use the bamboo. There is no technical reason why a Bamboo shouldnt be used on a short course.

I imagine that each bamboo piece (since it's organic) will vary in the amount of flex it produces so each Bamboo created will vary slightly based on the batch of Bamboo used. This means that each frame could be different and another Bamboo Pro might ride stiffer than mine.

But I digress, back to climbing! The bike ascends great and is still very responsive. I will take the flex it produces while ascending any day of the week since I know that comes with the ride it produces while descending and on the flats.

Now to descending. I have had the bike into the 40 mph zone (I live in Dallas) and the bike is so smooth its like I'm cheating. I really think this gives the rider an even greater edge because he/she can concentrate even more on the technical aspect of the descent rather than having their brain jarred out. The frame is perfectly stiff enough for what we can throw at it and I again it makes nearly every aspect of my everyday rides new again.

The other reason I wanted to wait a while to write this up is just to see if the things I was feeling and experiencing on the bike were mental or real. It was such a sweet ride right off the bat I had to hold myself in check and see if i was really feeling better during and after the rides or if the adrenaline of having a new bike was messing with my feelings somewhat. I have been riding it regularly since Feb. or so and feel just as giddy today as I did back then when I take it out.

The local cyclist I bight the bike from on this forum mentioned as he sold it to me that he got alot of attention while riding the like and he wasn't kidding. I think if anyone is shy, not much of a people person or really doesn't like chatting to folks while riding they might not want to go with the Bamboo. I am such a geek - I eat stuff like that up so I don't mind one bit but I can definitely see how it might make certain people uncomfortable. I usually just say thank you and answer their questions as best I can.

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