More bamboo, Commencal lands in the U.S., and more

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Sol Cycles growing bamboo frames

Craig Calfee’s not the only one making bikes from bamboo. Princeton student and racer Nick Frey is racing this spring’s collegiate season on a prototype bamboo frame. Frey and some partners plan to put the frame into (custom) production this summer, to be marketed under the Sol Cycles name.

Frey’s bike, a 62-centimeter, weighs 16.2 pounds built up with mostly Dura-Ace parts and Zipp 404 wheels.

Frey says the brand name was chosen because the first bamboo tubes were sourced from Brazil, where O sol (“The sun” in Portuguese) helps grow the plant. Sol “also has a cool phonetic relationship with Soul,” Frey says.

You can learn more at Frey’s blog.

Special edition Bettini Sidis

Quick Step’s Paolo Bettini says he’s changed almost everything at some point in his long career: team jerseys, bikes, managers and teammates. But he has used Sidi shoes the whole time.

This May, the company is offering a special edition Ergo 2 Carbon shoe that includes rainbow stripes to honor his two world championships and gold accents to honor his victory at the Athens Olympics.

The shoes will be packaged in a special box containing a gold crown and a white autographed shoe bag. Suggested retail is 375 Euros, or about $570.

BTI brings Commencal to the U.S.

Santa Fe, New Mexico, distributor BTI is now importing Commencal mountain bikes from Andorra.

The fast-growing brand, which sponsors pro riders including 2003 Red Bull Rampage winner Cedric Gracia, has been around since 2000, but has not previously been available to U.S. dealers.

The line-up includes cross-country, downhill, four-cross, dirt jumping and Super D models. Many models have an unusual adjustable head angle and highly tunable rear suspension linkage that allow riders to tune their set-up for their preference or the terrain.

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FILED UNDER: Bikes and Tech