This may lead to a huge side debate, but for a lot of mechanics, the frame is actually the boring part of a bicycle build. Sure it's the centerpiece. Sure does it plane? But there's already a plethora of other issues one needs to address when assembling a bike that building your own frame seems like a misprioritisation of time for novices.
For example: will all the components of the drivetrain you pieced together actually shift well? Are the cranks going to clear the chainstays? Is the headset too tight? Do the brakes bite at the right moment when one pulls the lever? Why do the brakes squeal? Are the wheels properly tensioned and trued?
These details may not matter the first 30 minutes of riding a new bike. But 3 months from now, whether a bike has issues or not depends on attention to these details.
Most local bike co-ops have enough 80s Japanese frames that are still compatible with easily accessible parts that I don't see a strong proposition for building a bamboo frame other than a design gimmick. Steel frames are generally lighter, won't fail catastrophically, and are arguably more elegant.
But to answer your question, if you'd like to build a bicycle frame, I'd look into a class from any of the following:
I’d rather see numbers on that. My cheapo MTB is sure as hell not light. Depending on how much I have to pay for the materials, bamboo one might be lighter and provide higher quality of ride at the same price point (not counting work).
If I need to pay $1000 for such a bike, I’d say it’s a very generous interpretation of “generally lighter”. As in, 90% of bicycles I encounter on the street on a given day are probably not that.
Just realized where I remember you username from. You gave me a ton of food for thought in a bicycle maintenance thread not that long ago[0]. Thanks, being a newbie up until then I didn’t even know which terms to search for!
I've built up all but one of my bikes from parts, but have never attempted to build a frame. I look for 80s steel frames in decent condition and the right size.
My impression is that frame building is a highly intensive hobby and a labor of love. The frames become practically heirlooms. Some of the bikes are just stunning. There's a fair amount of specialized equipment involved, and brazing / welding are arts unto themselves.
Perhaps (just my guess) a bamboo bike is less intensive since it's basically glued together, to over-simplify. This might make it a much more accessible project.
One of the best places to save money on a bike is to learn to do your own maintenance.
A used frame that is mechanically compatible with new (or at least newer) components, and do most of the assembly yourself, at least for the things that only require specialty wrenches instead of something more complex, like a press. If you can strip an older, better bike to the frame, you can clean it up, patch the chips, and put it back together shiny.
If you can't do all of that, then the assembly costs could be higher than a reasonable frame.
The book "Bike, Scooter, and Chopper Projects for the Evil Genius" by Brad Graham is a pretty fun read around projects for and with bike frames. Loads of pictures too, if you're just interested in the sort of things you could do.
Edit: Fished the book out for the ISBN, 978-0071545266.
This may lead to a huge side debate, but for a lot of mechanics, the frame is actually the boring part of a bicycle build. Sure it's the centerpiece. Sure does it plane? But there's already a plethora of other issues one needs to address when assembling a bike that building your own frame seems like a misprioritisation of time for novices.
For example: will all the components of the drivetrain you pieced together actually shift well? Are the cranks going to clear the chainstays? Is the headset too tight? Do the brakes bite at the right moment when one pulls the lever? Why do the brakes squeal? Are the wheels properly tensioned and trued?
These details may not matter the first 30 minutes of riding a new bike. But 3 months from now, whether a bike has issues or not depends on attention to these details.
Most local bike co-ops have enough 80s Japanese frames that are still compatible with easily accessible parts that I don't see a strong proposition for building a bamboo frame other than a design gimmick. Steel frames are generally lighter, won't fail catastrophically, and are arguably more elegant.
But to answer your question, if you'd like to build a bicycle frame, I'd look into a class from any of the following:
UBI in Oregon - https://bikeschool.com/
Doug Fattic in Michigan (he has a three-week course) - http://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/Fattic-Doug.htm
One of Doug's students has written a lengthy piece about his experience - https://medium.com/@ben.hudson/framebuilding-with-doug-fatti...
Yamaguchi in Colorado - https://www.yamaguchibike.com/content/School