On Thursday our team trickled into Chengdu from all corners of China. Hailing from Beijing where he works as the head mechanic and ride leader at SERK, our Danish champion Morten was first to arrive. Within half an hour Jeff and Tyler, the dangerous duo behind Factory 5 in Shanghai came rolling in. From there we’d spend the better part of the afternoon walking everyone through our current projects. We’d give everyone a turn on the tall bike, drink a few cold beers and shoot the breeze. We had an after-hours debriefing of our following week’s itinerary, then packed it all in and hit up our favorite hole-in-the-wall for grub.
Something a little different.
We decided to piece together another demo bike for folks to get a real feel for how bamboo rides. There’s nothing radically different in this build besides the color selection. We most often build bikes around black or neutral colors to highlight the bamboo. We figured we’d try white out this time round. Looks pretty sharp!
Out riding.
We’ll be spending the next week in the rooftop of the world, Tibet, racing mountain bikes with our buddies at Factory Five. We’ve put together a special bamboo race whip, but we’ll talk about it more later. Check back in for ride updates, videos and more coverage of our travels.
A bicycle is forever(er).
Cliff and Carrie both picked up customized versions of the Bamboo 8. They get out and ride regularly and with their new bikes we imagine no matter where they are, they’ll be riding together for quite a while yet. Scope out more photos below!
Countryside riding.
Get your rides in while the getting’s good!
Pro tips on cycling form.
Cycling is a poise of strength and technique. Every motion on the bike can be broken down into a beautiful form, repetitive yet striking, like watching a painter sculpt a landscape stroke-by-stroke with a brush. That said, I wished I’d learned the right way to blow a snot rocket earlier on. It’s a messy skill to get just right without a little coaching.
Speaking of Spring.
Now that the weather’s nice we’re also making sure to get out and ride more. Most importantly we’re exercising the golden rule of our guide to getting in shape for summer: being social.
Fa(s)t Freddie and the Poker Alleycat.
This past December everybody’s favorite Swede, Fa(s)t Freddie paid us a visit. He spent a few weeks kicking around Chengdu ripping up the city streets on our Bamboo 1 demo bike. Needless to say he had a fine old time of it.
Spring into your summer riding.

Spring bike rides can mean so many things – the start of a new year after a long winter, a fresh beginning, the first steps into a new plan to get fit. Whether you’re just getting out of the house to enjoy nice weather, or you’re pushing yourself to start your interval exercises on transitional days of snow and sleet to be ready for spring racing – bike rides in the first days of Spring can be wonderful. The window is now wide open for getting in shape, and unless you live in paradise, the weather can be a bit tenuous, so here are four recommendations for orienting yourself towards spring bike rides.
Let ’em loose.
We’d been on Jon’s radar for a little while before he finally decided to go for it and see to getting his own custom frame built. 27.5″ wheels give is decent handling on technical climbs but are large enough to suck up rough terrain on a fast and loose downhill.
Towering at nearly two meters tall (6 foot and a few inches!), Jon is built like a linebacker and his frame was done up to match the punishment he’d be dishing out. Not to mention he picked out a smooth components package to complement the ride. Keep an eye out for this whip tearing up trails in the Bay Area!