Calfee Design Top Class Bamboo Road Bike

When it comes to carbon or bamboo bikes, there are not many as knowledgeable or experienced people as Craig Calfee. Calfee, who grew up in Cape Cod, worked as a bike messenger in the mid-1980s while attending the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, a highly regarded school of design. As a hobby he also helped to fabricate lightweight racing level kayaks made of carbon fiber. In case of a person as creative and talented as he is, these experiences inevitably synergized into Calfee Design, a company which enjoys a privileged position in the industry and has some pretty impressive achievements.

One of which is the manufacturing the very first fully carbon fiber frame which competed in Tour de France. These frames were custom made in 1991 for Greg Lemond and the American 3-time Tour de France winner was absolutely over the moon with their stability and comfort.

In the second half of the 90s Calfee pioneered the way for frames made of very exotic material - bamboo. What as first looked like a gimmick later turned out to be a serious stuff. He discovered that this material is immensely strong and durable while its vibration dampening qualities are far superior to anything else, including titanium, steel or carbon fiber. But there was also another aspect which he describes in his own words: "People generally want to live in harmony with nature; it’s an instinctive thing. And when you see the frame of a bamboo bike, you immediately understand that we’re combining technology and nature in a direct way.”

And so when you want to enjoy the beauty of a raw natural material turned into a cutting edge bicycle, Calfee Design is in a league of its own.

Our Calfee Bamboo Road Bike is a masterpiece. The massive bamboo tubes are binded together with a special method. Instead of the standard mix of epoxy and fiber Calfee uses a fiberglass casting tape, primarily designed for strong cast to set broken bones. This all results in a surprisingly stiff frame which feels extremely supple at the same time. And it wouldn't be a true Calfee without many refined details like the carbon fiber bosses for the bottle cage, internally routed cables or indeed the highest manufacturing level. A separate chapter is the one-piece cockpit made of carbon fiber tubes connected the same way as the bamboo. Stunning.

This bike is really special and so the parts cannot be of a different sort. It is fitted with Campagnolo Record 11-speed EPS groupset with electronic shifting and Campagnolo Eurus wheelset. And all of the parts are in stunning condition with almost no signs of usage. No wander, since the bike has been ridden for a few kilometers at most.

A truly unique bike which combines performance, beauty and nature together.