The Man Who Pedalled Japan’s Plains on a Wood-Framed Bike!

Gus has two “Big Woody” bicycles – Woody 2 and Woody 1.

Two bikes with wooden frames, which he designed and built by himself.

The wood used in Woody 2

‘Sixty-something’ pieces, nine different species… from Africa, Fiji, Canada, Australia, Tasmania and Papua New Guinea are in the Woody. The Rosewood and the ’24 rings to the inch aircraft-grade Douglas Fir were offcuts of slabs used in Witches Falls Cottages’ dining room. The Cedar was from the now defunct Captain’s Table Restaurant in Surfers Paradise and had a curious smell of deep-fried calamari, lime and pickled ginger, all combined with that unforgettable Cedar bouquet…

At the ‘spiritual heart of this machine’

…

‘Shinto speaking’ is Hinoki, a much-loved Japanese timber.

After riding Woody 1 1000km around the mountainous Izu Peninsula and Kanto Plains of Tokyo, Gus was given the Hinoki by Condo Sensei, a highly skilled timber artisan and patient teacher from Odawara, Japan. After showing him Woody 1 and chatting about their shared ‘beliefs’ over green tea, Gus was offered Hinoki for inclusion in Woody 2’s frame. 

This timber is used in Japanese Temple buildings, amongst other things. It has been called Go-Shin-boku, “Tree where god stayed.” In traditional housing, it is often seen in the central 4-post support structure because of its strength and flexibility – think earthquakes! 

And it looks good too, because it is left exposed throughout the house. It’s also used in Japanese timber baths because it can, as Gus says, “withstand somewhat intriguing, humid environments.”

Material and Construction

• Hollow tubular laminated wood
• Rosewood, Huon Pine, Fijian Ebony, Purple Heart, Brush Box
• Aircraft grade “25 rings to the inch” Douglas Fir, Queensland Maple
• Kevlar-reinforced epoxy glue lines
• Chemically and mechanically bonded Alloy Head Tube
• A Central Bracket Seat Clamp and Stainless Dropouts
• Internal cabling, Integrated Rear Light

• Finish: Howard’s Orange and Tung Oil
• Components: Shimano Ultegra Triple Groupset, Fulcrum 5CX Cycle Cross Wheelset

Technical details

The frames are hollow, and the timber is laminated using epoxy glue.  Structural engineering principles determine the thickness at the stress points in the framework. The laminated timbers comprise harder woods above and below softwood sides. This was done to maximise lateral stiffness but allow some vertical cushioning from the softwood sides.  The laminated layers have glass or carbon in the glue lines to distribute stress where necessary. 

The rear wheel mudguard works well. This is an example of wood being used as frame members, but it is not limited to classical tube shapes. It is a Chilean Maple & Australian Brush Box laminate with 200 gsm glass in the glue lines.  Using this method, Gus sought to reduce weight and increase stiffness in the desired directions.

Now, let’s look at Woody 1

Gus comments on Woody 1 and Woody 2.

Many people are stunned when they see a ‘Woody’ on or off-road.

The juxtaposed nature of a thing that should be ‘made of steel’, then the beauty and craftsmanship, and finally the engineering, sends these onlookers into a spin! Like all good tail spins, they pull out after a few moments of silence, with comments like “you should sell them”…or… I want one too!

And whilst it’s possible to CNC frames in wood, the approach I took was learnt from Woody 1’s frame, which I built using plywood in Japan…. I just drew the frame shape with my favourite angles and sizes on a 3 mm sheet of ply and cut it out with a little pull saw, I cut four actually, and glued two each together, being the left (Port) side and the right (Starboard) side of the frame. (WF Building and boats have a lot of synergy …). I then used thin timber stock top & bottom between these vertical ply frame shapes and applied lots of shaping and sanding to complete a frame of hollow tube shapes.

There was some mucking around with the hardware (steering tube, the bottom bracket and dropouts). The long and short of this is that I rode that frame thousands of kilometres in the Japanese mountains south of Tokyo. But it flexed under climbing loads. I expected it to fail by breaking in half on a descent, to the extent that I always rode with a flashing light in case I ended up down a ravine! Luckily, the ply was ‘laid up’ vertically, and was strong enough to last the distance.

The problem was that as I climbed, the twisting and levering motion made the frame bend sideways, as you could imagine. So, from that time onwards, I built in reverse…. Plys, or now ‘laminates’, are laid up across the frame, and I use ‘infill softer woods’ to encourage finite amounts of flex to absorb road shock and achieve the ultimate ride.