The fat bike industry has taken off, we all know that. When Specialized and Trek enter the game, it is bound to blow up an industry. Honestly, the coolest bikes have come from smaller bike manufactures such as Borealis, Muru Cycles, and a very unique company, Boo Bicycles. Last week we had the opportunity to take a tour of the Boo Bicycles shop and test out a bamboo bike. Boo Bicycles is a very small bike manufacturer that specializes in race level custom builds. They found their niche with the fastest growing plant in the world, bamboo. Owners Nick Frey, Mechanical Engineer and professional cyclist, and James Wolf, 15 years of experience with bamboo, combined their knowledge and decided to go into business in 2009 to make bikes built out of bamboo.
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One of the first Boo Bikes hangs from the ceiling at their shop in Fort Collins, Co.
James lives in Vietnam where “iron bamboo” grows. It is some of the strongest bamboo in the world. After trimming down the bamboo to size, James builds the frame right in Vietnam. The frames are then sent to Fort Collins, Colorado, where the rest of the bike is assembled and shipped off to a very happy customer. “Bamboo just shoots up out of the ground, its round already, it is in the shape that it needs to be in, and it only requires sunlight and water,” said James, comparing bamboo to it’s labor intensive counterpart, metal. Bamboo is very abundant, and is naturally strong, and sustainable – sounds like a winning combination for bike manufacturing. Each bike is made to fit an individual along with custom builds. However, Boo Bicycles decided to make a more economical bike, the Aluboo. The Aluboo is a fusion between aluminum and bamboo. All of the joints on the bike are made of aluminum, lowering their cost. It is still nearly the same weight with a similar ride quality and stiffness. One super unique Aluboo bike is their Alubooyah. A sweet ride needs a sweet name, and thats what Boo Bicycles did with their Fat Bike. The Alubooyah comes with a 170mm rear spacing, tapered head tube, and 3 builds to choose from.
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The Alubooyah.
So why is a bike from Boo Bicycles your next Bikepacking bike? A few things come to mind, one being that an Aluboo, or custom Boo are perfect bikes for the Tour Divide. The divide route has some nasty washboard, bumpy roads. It is tough on the body. Bamboo has a fantastic dampening quality making your ride that much smoother.  Boo claims that bamboo has better dampening qualities than carbon fiber. Another super cool feature they offer is their interchangeable slider dropouts, meaning the bike can accommodate 120mm, 130mm, and 135mm rear spacing. The dropouts are also breakable, so for the internal hub – belt drive freaks, your super unique bike just got a bit radder. For a custom bike check out this link, it is easy and fun to play around building your dream bamboo bike. For Aluboo orders check out this link. Here you will find the Alubooyah, The Aluboo commuter, road, and cross bike, as well as frame sets.
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Our favorite, the custom carbon Boo. What a fun ride!
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Bamboo spacers…Yes please!
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Aluboo frames hanging out.
Boo Bicycles
More frames hanging out, waiting to be customized.
Boo Bicycles
Boo is also making their own forks, aluminum and carbon. Here is their carbon road/cross fork.

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