Wood Bike History
Fun Bikes that you can make yourself!
So you want to build a bike in the worst possible way...
My epiphany came when was trying to make a large castor wheel for a parade float. I drilled a hole in a scrap of redwood 4x6 lumber and mounted an old Campagnolo bike headset in it. I installed an old bike fork through it and attaching a wheel to make a BIG castor wheel. But many other possibilities emerged. I was also immediately captivated by the incongruous look of an old piece of lumber sporting a fine headset and supporting a fork and wheel.
It reminded me of antique wooden boneshaker bikes from the 1800's and even older wheeled wooden swift walkers or Draisines that I have seen in museums and bike books. It made me realize how easy it would be to build bikes now that we have ready access to headsets, Bottom Brackets (BBs) and wheels. I realized that the recumbent (laying back with feet out front) bike frame design was an easy way to use a single piece of wood for the main frame with no joints. I could simply use a piece of plywood on each side, taking the place of seat stays and chain stays, to support the back wheel.
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