Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to Tech news
TECH NEWS
Tech
10 stunning wooden bikes Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 7.jpg

10 stunning wooden bikes

Lovely lumber from the Berlin Bike Show
by Mat Brett
Thu, Mar 24, 2016 13:08
7

You don’t often see wooden bikes out on the roads – if at all – but they’re always cool to look at. Here’s a bunch we spotted at last weekend’s Berliner Fahrradschau bike show in Germany.

Coh&Co Gustav

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 1.jpg

Denmark’s Coh&Co makes a couple of wooden bikes, this one being the Gustav. 

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 2.jpg

“Gus is a lightweight wood and carbon composite frame offering a lively and vivid ride with steep angles that keeps you forward and on your toes,” according to Coh&Co. “Fitted with drop bars and Gevenalle 10-speed parts, you will be treated with the most genuine ride on the road.”

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 3.jpg

Prices start at around €2,700 (about £2,133)

http://cohandco.com/

Aceteam Slim Wooden E-Bike

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 5.jpg

This e-bike is made of ash and is driven by either a FlyKly SmartWheel or a 
Zehus Bike+ hub. 

It’s priced at €4,280 (around £3,380).

www.aceteam.de

 

Kiem Cycles

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 6.jpg

Keim Cycles makes its stunning bikes from white ash. 

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 7.jpg

They are made to measure and tailored to the spec you want. 

www.keim-cycles.com

 

Materia Bikes

Materia makes a whole range of wooden frames.

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 8.jpg

This one is the Fixed Gear Wudu.

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 9.jpg

This is the Cruiser.

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 10.jpg

And this one is the Gusto city bike

www.materiabikes.com

 

Crazy chopper-style bike

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 4.jpg

Ah yeah, this mad thing! I think it’s a promo tool belonging to Melon Helmets. There’s a lot of heft going on here, and not much pedal clearance, although we’re guessing that it’s never going to get ridden far anyway.
www.melon-helmets.com

NaturRad Buffalo

Yes, we know that bamboo isn’t wood, it’s grass, but you try fitting that into a headline. NaturRad says that the complete Buffalo pictured here weighs 9.8kg (21.6lb)

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 14.jpg

As well as frames, NaturRad makes wooden handlebars in loads of different styles.

www.naturrad.com

 

My Boo My Densu

My Boo bikes come from Ghana where they’re produced through the Yonso Project, “an aspiring social project dedicated to expanding educational and economic opportunities.”

Berlin Bike Show 2016 wooden - 16.jpg

The My Densu is designed as a sportive road bike and it’s priced at €2,290 (about £1,808) in a mainly Shimano Sora build. The claimed weight is 11.5kg (25.4lb).

www.my-boo.com

Berliner Fahrradschau
Berlin Bike Show
wooden
Wood
Mat Brett

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
Alan Southern | 8 years ago
0 likes

I remember seeing in the Birmingham Science Museum 50 years ago a home-made bike  that had been made in Africa.  It had a standard frame similar to a sit up and beg style, two wheels (with spokes), a saddle, tyres and a chain, all made of wood, cord and leather.  I don't know whether it was capable of being ridden!  I don't know what the Museum did with it because it is not now on display at their new site.

Avatar
henrypurcell | 8 years ago
0 likes

Excuse my ignorance Paddy, but how do you take photo of bike standing in garden with no visible support?

Avatar
vinnn replied to henrypurcell | 8 years ago
0 likes

henrypurcell wrote:

Excuse my ignorance Paddy, but how do you take photo of bike standing in garden with no visible support?

Notice that the non-drive side pedal is resting on an upside-down glass.

That said you can take photos of bikes with no visible support quite easily if you have an assistant. The assistant will do their best to stand out of shot but holds the bike upright. The assistant quickly, temporarily moves their arm out of shot for the take and grabs the bike again before it falls over.
I suppose you could also do this without an assistant if you have a tripod, remote shutter and a bit of planning & patience.

Avatar
Mat Brett | 8 years ago
0 likes

Great looking bike Paddy.

 

Avatar
Paddy Williams | 8 years ago
0 likes

There are some nice designs in here, but I reckon my gorgeous Renovo Odysseus is prettier and a more enjoyable ride than all of these. It took a long time to be handmade and delivered from the US, but it's jaw-droppingly beautiful in hickory and walnut and handles like a dream. I've built it up to about 8kg, with enve forks, full ultegra 11spd g/s and wheels with a Brooks saddle, an awesome St Bernard-style saddle-bag and leather bar tape.

Avatar
Chris | 8 years ago
1 like

Bamboo's the way to do it.

So satisfying building your own custom frame, and you don't need to be able ot weld!

Avatar
mike the bike | 8 years ago
2 likes

There is something going on here, for me at least.  The idea that an ordinary person, using only hand tools, could make a bike frame is just fundamentally right.  It should be more common and I hope it grows.

Latest Comments