Review: Bamboo Bikes XC MTB

Last year back in July, Mark Beeley popped into our offices with the Bamboo XC bike to give us a run down and wet our appetites. When I found out we had the opportunity to get one back in for review we happily obliged and couldn't wait to give it the MoreDirt review treatment.

Your eyes aren't deceiving you… Yes this is a top spec cross-country hardtail with all the latest mod con’s but a frame made from Bamboo.

So why would you actually ever want to make a frame out of Bamboo? As you may or may not know Bamboo is an incredibly strong material and pound for pound its has a higher tensile strength than steel, It’s incredibly stiff but still has a great tolerance to bumps or chatter on the trail and despite it being a natural material the characteristics in performance are consistent from tube to tube. Most importantly this bike isn’t just a one off. It can be replicated time after time but each with subtle little differences and it's available for the general public to purchase straight from Bamboo Bikes!

The frames are made entirely from bamboo, hemp matting impregnated with epoxy resin with metal inserts in all the essential places like the bracket and headtubes where exact widths are required for standard components to be compatible. Obviously bamboo isn’t all perfectly straight so each frame varies a little from frame to frame but the frames are aligned in a jig so the dropouts, bb, head tube all line up perfectly and they can get perfect levels of consistency from bike to bike.

Componentry

The model we had sent to us for review had a full Shimano XT transmission, an M:Part handle bar, stem and headset combo. Shimano’s fantastic XT brakes, Mavic 717 Rims laced to Shimano XT Hubs with Rubena’s Scylla tires and finally a Pro seat post with white Madison Flux saddle to perch upon.

Up front the bike has Kashima coated Fox Float 32 RL 100mm forks, which really ties together and finishes of the build that couldn’t be any more contrasting to the frame they are built upon.

The frame is the number one component here though more specifically the characteristics that go alongside a frame made entirely of bamboo.

Bamboo Bikes XC MTB
Frame:	Bamboo Bikes XC MTB
Fork:	Fox Float 32 RL 100mm forks
Shock:	N/A
Wheels:	Mavic 717 on Shimano XT Hubs
Tires:	Rubena Scylla 26x2.1 Tyres
Brakes:	Shimano XT 160/160
Cranks:	Shimano XT 44/32/22
Rear Derailleur:	Shimano XT 10spd
Front Derailleur:	Shimano XT
Shift Levers:	Shimano XT
Seatpost:	Pro Components
Handlebar:	M:part Oversize 680mm
Stem:	M:part Oversize

The Ride

Now I’m no cross country racer, So when it came to riding the bike and getting an educated opinion on how the bike performs, I got in contact with James Davey, a local XC racer.  You may recognise James from a blog he writes here on MoreDirt!  He rides in the Junior category and is pretty damn good at it too so we couldn’t think of a better man for the job!

He’d never ridden anything quite like the Bamboo Bikes XC MTB but met me at the local trail centre with his pedals in hand. We installed them wound him up and let him go! Straight from the off James was really surprised at how great the bike actually felt. I think anyone’s natural reaction who steps off an all singing and dancing carbon Scott Scale 900 RC 29er would expect a frame made from Bamboo to be inferior to what he was used to for want of a better word.

He said the bike accelerates fast and handles nicely with the 26inch wheels and 70° head angle. We caught up with James in the woods and grabbed some photos. I got the impression he was beginning to feel at home on the Bamboo XC bike and really let it rip pulling a big wheelie out of a turn pumping the next session of trail only to return with a grin on his face.

As we walked back to the van we discussed how it compares to other XC bikes out there James has experience of. “It’s almost as smooth as your riding a 29er around here but without the extra speed and rolling efficiency. There’s very little feedback or chatter through the frame and it feels reassuringly stiff... You wouldn’t of thought you are even on a bike made from bamboo!”

On the whole James really liked the bike apart from a few niggles with the tyres and the saddle height but he wanted to make sure that I got across that the Bamboo XC mtb was a viable option as an XC race bike in its own right and not just rest this review on the fact its made from bamboo.

Conclusion.

The Bamboo Bikes XC bike is a pretty special beast. It won’t be for everyone by any stretch of the imagination but if you are willing to take a leap of faith and try it you won’t be left disappointed.

A frame will set you back £1199 of Sram/X-Fusion full builds from £1799 which you could say is pretty steep for a hardtail but remember you are not just getting a fast and high performance cross country mountain bike you are getting a hand crafted piece of art.

The Bamboo Bikes XC MTB certainly won’t be for everyone out there but if you take the plunge and ride one for yourself you will instantly get what its all about. Perfect for the hardcore XC racer who’se looking for something that little bit special!
Just make sure you keep away from those pesky panda's!