Who Or What Is Nuts?

 When I became a dedicated cyclist, nearly all bicycle frames were made of steel.  The differences between frames lay, in part, to the kind of steel used.  The best bikes were made of steel that had other elements added to make it stronger, allowing the frame to be made with thinner-walled tubes and therefore lighter in weight.

A few frames were made of other materials commonly used today:  aluminum, carbon fiber and titanium.  But these materials were used mainly in “experimental” frames or bikes built for the “gee whiz” factor.  Since builders and manufacturers didn’t know how to use those materials, the frames either had unsatisfying ride qualities or didn’t last.

Before and since, a few bikes have been made of other materials, sometimes as experiments, other times as jokes.  None, however, can compare to the one I’m about to describe:  one made from nuts.

I’m not talking about the kind you add to your yogurt or cereal.  Rather, I mean the type that thread onto bolts.

So how many nuts did it take to make the frame?  147.

They are joined to make something shaped like a conventional diamond frame.  The head tube and bottom bracket shell, however, are formed from steel tubes, as they are conventional frames.  And the fork ends and dropouts are cut from sheet metal.

After being welded together, the frame was painted Gray and outfitted with mountain bike tires and other gear.  The bike looks tough but I’m not sure I’d want to run it over too many bumps or jumps:  I’d worry about one or more of the spot welds failing.

If nothing else, the bike is a unique conversation piece.  I wonder, though whether it or anyone—or its creator—who’d ride it is more “nuts!”

From The Barrel: How Does It Age?

The bicycle has a two-century history, if you regard the draisienne as its starting point.  During that time, two-wheeled machines operated by foot power have been made from all sorts of materials, including wood--as the draisenne was.

Every generation or so, someone or another "discovers" wood as a bike-building material.  Some advantages of the material are its relative light weight and stiffness.  They, of course, are the reasons why wooden bicycle rims were used, mainly on track bikes, for decades even when nearly all frames were made of steel.  They were banned because bicycle wheels, especially those on track bikes, are built with highly tensioned spokes and ridden with high-pressure tires.  The problem was that an impact or other problem that would cause a wheel with a metal rim to bend or fold, but remain intact, would cause a wooden rim to shatter and send sharp splinters flying about.

I imagine that wooden frames wouldn't have such problems, as the joints that hold them together wouldn't be as taut as bicycle spokes, or experience impact in the same way.  On the other hand, I have to wonder how a wooden frame would hold up in various weather conditions, especially extremes of wetness or dryness.

If nothing else, a wooden bike would have a "cool factor", as few other people have one.  That is probably the reason why it would be such a popular item at an event like the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, held in Sacramento two weeks ago.

This "Cooper Bicycle" was created by industrial designer and University of Kansas professor Lance Rake. To join the wooden beams, and for the dropouts, he cut pieces of steel with a waterjet.  The seat and headtubes were also steel, just like the ones found on a traditional frame.

What makes the bike unique--and inspired its name--is the source of its wood:  a wine barrel.  A barrel-maker was known as a cooper, and I don't doubt that more than a few of them made bikes, as blacksmiths and other artisans did.  

That bikes were made by such people, and from materials like the ones Rake used, is the inspiration for a vision of his.  He wants to sell Cooper bikes, he says, but he is also interested in making plans and patterns available to local artisans "so we can make bikes from local resources."

Does he have plans to use his machine on a wine-tasting bike tour in, say, California or France or Italy?  "I hate to admit it, but I'm more of beer and whisky drinker," he confesses, "but my wife is into Red Blends."  Could a tandem be in the works?