Does Your Kid Want a Bike? Don’t Buy It, Just Make One Out of Bamboo!

Instead of going to Wal-Mart, buying a bike and schlepping it back to your house… just build your own bike! Bamboobee can help you out.

“But how?” you ask, “I don’t know the first thing about building bikes.” That’s okay. You don’t have to, thanks to this Singapore-based company that provides you with all the materials and instructions on how to put together your own bike made from lightweight and sustainable material.

Bamboobee packages everything you need to make your own bike into a nifty little kit called the “BIY” (build-it-yourself) Bike. Bamboo was chosen for the bike’s body because it is light, tough and cheap, as well as something that can be sustainably farmed and harvested. And if you’re worried about the strength of the bamboo, don’t be. It’s naturally strong, and after some extensive trial and error, the Bamboobee team discovered a honey-based infusion for the bamboo that prevents cracking, hence the “bee” in “Bamboobee.”

Bamboobee also sells a variety of accessories, such as baskets (all of which are adorable), different seats and saddle bags. Assembly tools and complete instructions are also provided with the BIY kit, as is a recyclable frame jig and 25 meters of hemp fiber to reinforce the joints. The BIY kit comes with everything you need to make the frame, but the seat, wheels, gears and pedals are provided by the customer.

Bamboobee also stocks completely assembled bicycles, also made of bamboo and other natural materials, if building isn’t your thing.