Indeed, way different than the tiki-torch variety…
They definitely have a smooth look, but man, people think carbon fiber breaks “easily” …I think i’d be puckered pretty tight across potholes and bridge joints.
I’m guessing they’re not too fragile, they’ve got a CAT 2 guy racing one and rumor is they’re about to come out with an xc hardtail.
Yeah, they claim that they stand up better to some tests than carbon, and that very well may be true…it’s just the idea of rolling on a light wood bike that’d make me uneasy.
Yeah, they claim that they stand up better to some tests than carbon, and that very well may be true…it’s just the idea of rolling on a light wood bike that’d make me uneasy.
Bamboo is not a wood but a fiberous grass. The stalks are made of very strong fibers (which incidentally are 95% carbon by weight) inside a celulose / resin matrix.
Mechanically bamboo has some interesting properties - a Yield Strength of 142MPa at a density of 0.4g/cm^3 - compared to Aluminum at a Yield Strength of 400MPa at 2.7g/cm^3. This means your Bamboo frame tubing may be a little bigger in diameter but the strength per weight ratio favours bamboo.
I worked on industrial projects in SE Asia and I’ve used bamboo scafolding on a number of occasions - its damn strong and easy to work with. Its a really interesting and useful material. I’d love to have a bamboo bike.
sweet looking. I have only ever seen Calfee’s in person which are amazing IMO.
One of my buddies recently purchased a Renovo, and absolutely loves it. He doesn’t race, but I haven’t seen anything about the bike that would keep you from doing so. Remember when they say it’s bamboo, it’s not five stalks tied together Gilligan’s Island style - it’s an engineered composite material that has more in common with modern CF frames. Maybe not quite as light, but surprisingly close, and very compliant (from what I’m told).
One of my buddies recently purchased a Renovo, and absolutely loves it… What was he riding before?
Interesting, but I resent this statement in one of the bullet points on their website home page: “Value. The Renovo is tough, durable, and can be easily refinished in 100 years to look new again, or left with scars and dents to show character. Either way, it will outlast you and still be looking good.”
Do they imply that I’m not looking good?
Yes.
Yes.
Oh.
Everything. The man has a bike for every occasion and is constantly building and tearing down new ones. Best comparison is probably vs a Trek 5000.
I know a guy that’s built a couple of bamboo bikes. Literally poles of bamboo with CF wrapping the joints. They look really cool.
Those Renovo bikes are really stunning looking but I would hate to ride it and crash, or absent-mindedly lean it against a wall or see some jerk knock it over. It would be such a heartbreaker to screw up the finish on something like that.
Sounds like you’re a wood-ologist 
.
i wouldn’t mind having this one, just gorgeous!
stronger than carbon and lasts longer than butted aluminum and steel and absorbs road vibration better than both. it’s not just bambo but other woods as well if you read the article and add that with the epoxy and wowsers!
bamboo, over in China and/or Japan, is used as the cross braces infrastructure for cemented highways and byways whereas we use iron rods for our roads AND bambo is commonplace for scaffolding and we’re talking highrise scaffolding, not just a few stories.
http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/...ng-on-high-rise.html
pretty sure that that bike would trump any carbon bike for stiffness and for handling a crash.
Sounds like you’re a wood-ologist
I’m not so much into bamboo that it give me a woody… besides - like I said earlier, bamboo is a type of fibreous grass not woody tree.
As an engineer I’m always interested in new and better construction materials. I did my hardwood floors 2 years ago and I went with bamboo. As an engineerd floor its much more impact resistant, and lasts longer than most of the other choices out there (I have kids and pets - durability is important to me). The other good thing about bamboo is that as a grass, its ‘enviornmentally friendly’, in that you cut down a few stalks and new ones sprout up in the same spot and grow really fast to maturity.
As for damaging the finish of the bike - from what I read the Renovo applies a hard sealant & clearcoat, so the bike should be pretty much the same as a carbon bike in terms of small scratcjes and dings… Though I wouldn’t use a blowtorch on it to weld anything on…
There’s some comments from customers on the Renovo website, one from a guy who had a carbon Pinarello Prince, and another from a guy who rode a Trek Madone. The Madone guy also has a mini-review about his Renovo on the Bicycling Magazine online buyer’s guide. Both guys sound pretty sold on the wood thing.