Zero-Dollar Carbon Fiber Bicycle

Back in January, I was presented with a large carbon fiber tube, in the form of an oar.  Being who I am, I made the obvious decision to build a bicycle frame out of it.  As I found out when building my bamboo bike, making a bicycle frame from scratch, especially when using composites,  is not actually very hard, as long as you have a lot of patience.  To make this project more interesting, more challenging, and cheaper, I built the entire frame and bicycle without spending any money on it.  Every component (except the pedals, which used to live on the bamboo bike) I either made myself or scavenged.

Carbon Fiber Bike Light Holder

This handlebar mounted light holder holds a cheap 9 LED flashlight, and clips onto any bike handlebars.  I built this carbon fiber holder out of the same carbon tow and epoxy I used for my bamboo bike frame.  When layered thinly, the composite is flexible enough so that the holder can clip on and off the handlebars and light without needing any screws.  I lined the holder with some handlebar tape so that it would grip the light and the handlebars.  The entire holder weighs only a few grams, and can easily be switched between bikes.

Building a Bamboo Bike Frame

This is how I built a bamboo bicycle frame.