The rider’s ride

Bamboo Bicycle Club Gravel Build, £445 (frame only), £3,190 as tested, bamboobicycleclub.org

Yep, that’s right: I rode 85km around the rutted tracks and bridleways of south London on a bike made from bamboo. And as it turned out, this was the perfect weapon for it. Being constructed of unidirectional vascular bundles, the stiffness of natural bamboo is on par with that of man-made carbon fibre so it is equally ideal for making bike frames as the ubiquitous black stuff. Whether it was sprinting or climbing steep ascents, the frame felt stiff enough to deliver a lively ride feel. Furthermore, bamboo’s fleshy lignin inner offers the frame a natural dampening too, meaning there’s no need for comfort solutions such as front suspension or flexy seatposts. This build, by London-based Bamboo Bicycle Club, is specced to be pushed to the limit. The Shimano GRX 1x setup…

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Cyclist Off Road (Digital) - 1 Issue, Autumn 2020

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