Need help, buy or build to cut steel, stainless steel, titanium etc

[fatguyslim]

ohhh can of worms -> opening time lol. But I'm in agreement with you re weights v costs and the power of marketing. When I was able to ride a bike I loved my ali frame/carbon forks/carbon monostay road bike @ 8.5kg, so not the lightest but light enough. I tried many full carbon but never liked the 'feel', the stiffness was great when putting the power down but tiring for long rides on uk road surfaces. For longer rides you couldn't beat my Condor Fratello steel tourer. It was almost as light @ 9kg but the feel was very different and took the worst out of the road surfaces. Of course the wheelset is just as important as the frame for ride quality...

In that case you will love bamboo bikes not just because I build them lol but also the fact that you can go for long rides on bamboo with little to no fatigue. Steel can go through high number of fatigue cycles before it deforms completely so it is a good choice for touring bikes still but bamboo is a pure beast it goes millions of cycles before anything happens to it. I have a bamboo fixie that ride quite often and trust me going uphill is a joy on this bike than a struggle. It is a very interesting material to work with to be honest. I will in near future offer hiring service here in york for people to try bamboo bikes and give feedback as to what they think about it. Will be posting my frames when I get the testing through so yeah keep an eye out lol. Cheers

[irving2008]

Sadly I won't be riding a bike any time soon... (see here ) but a bamboo semi-recumbent trike... Hmmm :)