Wooden Build

Tyler6357

Tyler6357

Well-Known Member
Okay, the next time you get PO'd because your bicycle isn't running right, think of this kid from Tanzania. He probably doesn't have a dime to his name but for some people building bicycles is in their blood or maybe just part of their DNA. What can you say except "great build, kid!"?
 

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Good for him. I hope he owns his own bicycle company one day.
Yes, I do whine when bolts come loose and I have to travel an entire mile to the auto parts store for some thread lock. Fortunately, no threat of Lions along the way.
 
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Just imagine what that little guy could do if he had the right tools and materials and maybe a little guidance from someone. Astounding.
Thanks for sharing that Tyler.

Tom
 
In parts of Africa, wooden bikes are used for quite serious freight carrying. Historically, it's not that long really since Europe was messing about with the Draisienne.
 
I love this kid already. Not a dime to his name, but he has a bike anyway - because he wanted one. I would love to give him all kinds of good tools.
This is why I built my own bike to look like a mid-teens cruiser: because I'm poor and knew I'd never be able to afford a real antique. I couldn't buy one, but I could build one. That's what this kid did too.
This is always so cool, when I see stuff like this. What's he going to be like when he's older?
 
Lungcookie said:
Do you even know that this kid made that wood bike or was it one of his 15+ brothers?
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While I admit you make a good point, in that we don't know if he built it, if it wasn't him it was likely a brother or friend he knew. In which case, that would be the fellow I'm admiring.
It seems less likely somehow (though not impossible) that the fellow in spandex in that picture built the road bike he rode in on. He has money, therefore he likely bought a bike. This kid's message amounts to "I may not have much, but I have a bike too. And if anything happens to it, I have the means to have another one." When you can get raw materials and have the knowledge to bend them to your will, that is a heck of a lot of power. And to a kid, a bike is a treasure, a way to go so much further than you can walk in that time, a sign of status, often their most important possession.
I remember that's how it was with me.
 
Allen_Wrench said:
While I admit you make a good point, in that we don't know if he built it, if it wasn't him it was likely a brother or friend he knew. In which case, that would be the fellow I'm admiring.
It seems less likely somehow (though not impossible) that the fellow in spandex in that picture built the road bike he rode in on. He has money, therefore he likely bought a bike. This kid's message amounts to "I may not have much, but I have a bike too. And if anything happens to it, I have the means to have another one." When you can get raw materials and have the knowledge to bend them to your will, that is a heck of a lot of power. And to a kid, a bike is a treasure, a way to go so much further than you can walk in that time, a sign of status, often their most important possession.
I remember that's how it was with me.
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Very profound thinking, Allen. Thank you.

Tom
 
KCvale said:
Something like just wood, glue, and saber saw?

Splinterbike-1.jpg
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The Splinterbike company makes an excellent argument for their use of wood. I just got done reading it. Of course, I didn't expect they were just taking some 2x4s and plywood and going to town. It's a lengthy and exacting process with them and they use hardwoods which compliment each other for strength and flexibility when laminated. They make you see wood bikes differently.
 
Lungcookie said:
Do you even know that this kid made that wood bike or was it one of his 15+ brothers?
Click to expand...

I can't tell you if he really built it. It's very possible that someone else built it, or most likely, helped him build it, I just don't know. But one thing I am pretty sure of is: if he is riding it, he will be fixing it and if he learns how to fix it he will learn how it's built and thus learn how to build it. :)
 
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Hey, I like the bike too.
Just had to play the cynic, everyone was pinning a medal on the kid.
He may very well have made it.
I don't know either.

Wonder what kinda miles he get on his tires?
Bike most likely floats, might be nice if you fall in a river.
If you get attacked by some wild animal you could use the bike as a diversion, jam it in the animals mouth while you run for a tree.
Then just make another.


Teach a man to fish...


Necessity is the mother of invention.
 
It looks like a scooter to me.

2_TinyWoodBike.jpg.FP


See the platform around the back wheel?
That would make sense considering how uncomfortable it looks to sit on.
 
What headset is he running? Looks like a 2" threadless, with rope bearings.

It doesn't matter to me exactly who built it, its a really cool machine made out of tree branches.

Definitely push power, but a scooter? Like he stands on the top bar? I'm thinking he sits on it and pushes his feet on the ground.

Gilbert
 
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