The original bamboo frame weighs in at a very respectable 4.1lbs, and, built up as a mountain bike has been going strong for a number of years now, and has even taken part in a few marathon events. Testament, if it was needed, to the strength and resilience of bamboo as a material.

It does leave one question though: why don't more people use it as a material?

It's not a question we find easy to answer, save for their being a natural reticence for people to use soemthing that isn't 'normal'. It certainly took some time before people were entirely comfortable with carbon fibre...

However, much as we liked the BME bikes, our journey took a wonderfully aesthetically pleasing turn as soon as we saw the work of Jan Gunneweg.

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