Bamboo bikes being built by bikers
MARQUETTE — A new club on the campus of Northern Michigan University allows students to roll up their sleeves and get experience building bikes.
Bamboo might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of building a bike, but it is not has hard it may seem. Local bikers are using a company that sends easy to follow instructions and a guide showing step by step instructions. When freshman Dylan Gonda got to NMU, he decided to create a club that will do just that.
“It’s from a company in England called Bamboo Bicycle Club. They send us all the tubes and everything that we need to make it. We have to cut it and shape it, and use a hemp epoxy system to connect the tubes. It’s environmentally safe and will last a long time if taken care of properly.”
Gonda said he hopes to be able to build up to five bikes for the Associated Students of Northern Michigan University’s (ASNMU) bike share program by next year. These bamboo bikes are cost comparable to other retail bamboo bikes and the club hopes to be able to build 5 bikes a year in the near future. Gonda said that the bike will take about 40 hours of work time and the club hopes to complete the project in 2 to 3 weeks.