If you’ve read my previous post you’ll see I’ve cracked a few bits of bamboo. Not wanting to throw them away I’ve made use of them by splitting them into two and then cutting them down further to form two less-than-semi-circle pieces that can then be glued together. I got the idea from Brendyn, another Melbourne bamboo bike maker, who’s done something like this in his latest build. Sweet stuff!
Below are some pics of what could be an oval shaped chain stay or seat stay. You can see in the first picture where the PVC tape I used to wrap it all up as the epoxy dried has left small amounts of epoxy behind. This would be sanded off later.
Next time I try this I’ll spend more time making sure the two pieces have bigger flat edges facing each other. Bigger area means more epoxy bonding area!
At first glance I imagine this would be perfect for chain stays but I wonder if it would flex too much side to side.
I thought the same thing Shelldon. But upon testing it it’s got about the same amount of flex as a 10mm steel rod. Epoxy is strong stuff!