First impression: Yabba Dabba Doo! Finally a bike like from the Stone Age cartoon family Feuerstein! Only much, much more modern.
That says the manufacturer: Since 2014, the Kiel brand MyBoo sells bicycles with bamboo frames. A novelty is the My Volta E8000 - an e-bike equipped with the Shimano Steps E8000 engine, currently the strongest engine of the Japanese supplier.
The company has been offering electric bikes for a long time, and its predecessor, My Volta, was the world's first bamboo mid-engined e-bike. However, the battery drove old-fashioned as the E-bike from the first hour on the luggage rack with - unsportsmanlike look, hecklästiges driving experience. "For the model year 2020, the memory is now on the down tube," says MyBoo spokesman Felix Habke.
But why bamboo? Because the new bike is designed as a commuter wheel and bamboo combines the qualities of aluminum and steel, the materials that are best for the long haul. "Bamboo is incredibly rigid but at the same time comfortable," says Habke.
photo gallery
16 pictures
Bamboo Wheel My Volta E8000: Yabba Dabba Doo!With bamboo, MyBoo is doubly sustainable: socially and ecologically. Ecologically, "because bamboo is one of the fastest growing renewable raw materials, it binds a lot of CO2," says Habke. Two and a half years after cultivation, the sweet grass is already 25 meters high and sufficiently lignified to beat it for further processing.
Social, because MyBoo draws the finished framework from Ghana, where 35 men and women have jobs "under fair working conditions". They harvest the bamboo on site and make the frames. "Part of the profits made go into educational projects," says Habke. In school scholarships, for example, or a separate school in the village of Yonso, which will initially allow 200 and later up to 1000 children school education.
We noticed that: once again a bike, which involves you as a driver everywhere in discussions. "Is that really bamboo?" Is the most common question we are confronted with. A woman looks at the frame: "Funny!" Another is just thrilled. The bottom line is that the bike produces a rippled echo, also the assessment "retro" occurs.
In fact, the bamboo frame has something of a bony old walking stick. As rustic as it looks, the My Volta E8000 drives so well. The frame feels stubborn, almost as if we were sitting on a carbon bike. The pipes are thick, however, to ensure stability. So there is no weight advantage over other e-bikes: With motor, battery and pedals the Flintstone bike weighs about 23 kilos.
The drive ensures proper thrust. The maximum torque is 70 Nm, no Shimano engine on the market is currently more powerful. The sensors interpret the applied pedal force appropriately and cause the engine to be used in a subtle way. Only the strongest Boost support level feels a bit too heavy - as if the bike wants to go through with it - even when throttled over the Shimano app and Bluetooth connection. The posture is upright and comfortable.
data sheet
Price: from 4699 euros
Engine: Shimano Steps E8000, rated continuous power 250 watts, supported speed: up to 25 km / h
Battery: 504 Wh, lithium-ion
Range: up to 100 km
Circuit: Shimano Deore XT with 10 gears
Brake: hydraulic disc brakes Shimano XT, discs 160 mm each
Tires: Schwalbe G One, 40-622 (28 inches)
Weight: 23 kilos (with battery and pedals)
Each bike had 80 hours of manual labor. The test wheel does not disappoint the expectations. At the points where stability could raise doubts, namely where the frame meets bamboo on metal, the craftsmanship is convincing: both the two rear dropouts that receive the rear wheel, as well as the two sleeves for saddle and head tube and the bottom bracket - and motor mount are integrated bombproof.
Only the outside cables and wires disturb the bamboo look. In addition, they complicate the bicycle wash. On special request it is technically possible to lay the cable through the hollow bamboo via an insertion tube on the head tube, but the manufacturer does not recommend this especially for e-bikes. "If something breaks down, the repair is expensive," says Habke.
You have to know that: With 120 dealers, MyBoo is Europe's largest but not the only supplier of bamboo bicycles. Strong Bamboo Bikes from Darmstadt or the brand Urbam from Dusseldorf offer some cheaper products. MyBoo relies on the customers that the handmade bamboo wheel from sustainability aspects is worth a certain price - only the frame costs almost 1000 euros. From lighting to gearboxes - high-quality components are installed: such as 1x10 derailleurs, disc brakes and hubs - everything comes from the Shimano Deore XT Group.
Ratgeber Rad
But do not bum such a bamboo frame? There are reports of mold and fibrous fractures. "No way!", It says, however, from Kiel. On the one hand, bamboo sprouts in humid regions and is protected by a natural wax layer. In addition, the frame would get a finish of car paint missed, so that scratches and damage from salt water would be avoided. Consequently, there's a five-year warranty on the frame.
One question remains: Does an e-bike with a battery whose production is regarded as energy-intensive and harmful to the environment contradict the claim to sustainability? It is still more ecological to use a bamboo frame for the e-bike than one made of metal, says Habke. In addition, e-bikes are essential for MyBoo to remain competitive. "If the company does not feel well, the project in Ghana would also be endangered." So it's clear: The My Volta E8000 is coming. The market launch is planned for the end of 2019.
We will remember this: how much interest has aroused the bamboo wheel, and yet no one has talked about the eco-question by itself.
