Materials

Biocomposites

A composite is a material made from two or more other materials with properties that complement each other. A biocomposite is a material that uses natural fibres as one of the ingredients. Grass Frames goes a step further by also using a plant-based resin to bind the natural hemp fibres.

Bamboo and Hemp

While bamboo is technically a type of grass and hemp is an herb, both have similar properties that make them perfect crops for production.

Both are super hardy plants, capable of growing in most places world round. They require little to no water, fertilizer or pesticides due to their natural hardy and antibacterial properties. Both are some of the fastest growing plants in the world, with some species of bamboo capable of growing up to 100 cm a day!

Due to their hardiness and wide range of uses, bamboo and hemp are some of mankind’s highest yielding industrial crops. Both plants can be broken down into fibres to produce clothing or rope, and raw bamboo stalk makes a great building material. Before concrete, brick or harvested stone was used in the Western world, bamboo was used for construction in many societies. Examples include scaffolding, bridges, heavy crate construction, and even body armour. Today bamboo is still used as scaffolding for tall building construction and lately is being used even more readily as the primary material for buildings.

Epoxy

In recent years plant-based epoxy resins has become more commercially available. The epoxy Grass Frames uses on our bamboo bicycle frames has far less toxic or volatile compounds (VOCs) than traditional petroleum based epoxies. By using this compound our builders are safer and more comfortable. The clean-up process is also simpler and more environmentally sensitive leaving the environment cleaner and safer to boot.