From flooring, to clothing, to jewelry, bamboo is being used in the manufacture of a large number of products. The speed at which it grows, the increasing consumer interest in environmentally friendly products, and the relative ease of cultivation have all contributed to a $60 billion global industry. From high-end road bikes to affordable transportation, bamboo bicycles are gaining in popularity, too.
When it came time for Nick Frey to write his Princeton senior thesis, his passion for bikes made the topic selection easy. Frey, who has traveled to 20 countries to compete in biking events, and won two national titles, decided to pair his mechanical and aerospace engineering studies with his love of cycling. He teamed up with two other students to design and build a bike made from bamboo.
“The concept had promise,” Frey says of the school project, so much promise that he has since built a successful company around the idea. He is now the CEO of Boo Bicycles, which will celebrate eight years of operation this summer. “Our mission,” says Frey, “is to create the highest performance, best riding custom bikes on the market using bamboo and other materials.”