June 2023 - It’s all about Sylvi part 2

So, while walking around Tesco looking for inspiration for tea, my phone rattles in my pocket. 

I pull it out to be greeted by a message from Nick at Beamz. 

‘Hey Sharon, someone called Sylvi here is waiting to meet you’ 

Any inspiration I may have had, instantly flew out of the big sliding doors with me following as soon as I’d paid for the bits I was carrying. 

I tentatively knocked the door, not knowing if my visit would be convenient as I usually prearrange not wishing to impose. Rosie was the first to respond, her barking replacing a doorbell, and  Nick greeted me soon after.

Nick and Sarah led me into the garden to see Sylvi in her newly formed glory. I was fighting back the emotions that were overwhelming me. She was even more stunning than I had ever imagined. 

‘Can we go for a ride’ I asked, forgetting that I’d come in the van so did not have a helmet with me. 

‘Yes, sure!’ Said Nick. So we got ourselves organised for my first ever ride. Nick had already been out on her, checking that everything was working and all was safe. 

We carefully headed down to the local seafront. As I gently put her through her paces. 

We stopped by ‘Grandad Dave’s local hero seat’ to see what he would look like with a Beamz bike. I think it complemented his rusty complexion quite nicely. I had only taken one photo and a couple stopped to talk about the bikes. We all stood chatting for at least 20 minutes, answering questions and sharing information. I wondered if this is something I would need to get used to. 

The conversation drew to a close and we all moved on. 

We rode a little further down the cycle path then stopped to take more photos by the sea. I hadn’t stopped grinning since the moment I saw her. 

Catching the last of the sun, and feeling the temperature begin to drop, we headed back to Beamz HQ. 

And after a couple of handy maintenance tips, Sylvi took pride of place in the back of the van, and we headed home. (Still grinning!) 

I resisted the temptation to ride to work on Thursday. A cunning plan was composing in my head. Instead I asked Jo if she were free for a ride after school. She willingly agreed 

It was a stunning evening and our ride took us partly on roads I knew and partly new ground - for me anyway. 

The light was just perfect for a 12 mile ride and some Sylvi photographs. 

Once home, I set about organising Friday and my cunning plan. Our school loves World book day and I have to admit that I don’t usually take part in the dressing up as a book character, but on this occasion, I just couldn’t resist. 

So with the vague excuse of being one of my shero’s, Kate Rawles for the day, I was able to walk round school wearing cycle gear and pushing Sylvi where ever I went. 

Kate had very kindly signed the book of her ride when I went to hear her talk the previous week. She had ridden her bamboo bike ‘Woody’ 8000 miles across South America highlighting the plight of our decreasingly bio-diverse planet. 

Her talk was eye-opening, her book even more so. 

Woody had pride of place next to her podium, and it was good to see how robust a plant based bike can be. 

The questions the students asked me were fascinating. 

‘Why buy a wooden bike?’ that one was easy and I explained that I had saved 60kg the release of Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (30kg is released during the processing and manufacture of a metal bike. The other 30 happens to be locked into the wood that makes her frame) 

I asked if they could picture how much 60kg of the gas is. They were amazed when I explained it would need 6000 standard party balloons to hold it. 

I was then challenged about the damage of cutting down trees when we need them to process carbon dioxide and make oxygen. I absolutely agreed, then explained about the method of coppicing. The fact that the tree from which the wood was taken is still there, just cut low to the ground, and happily regrowing is an important one to me. Within the next 7 years that tree will have big enough branches to build another bike. Truly sustainable! 

I explained how a properly managed copse is perfect for

biodiversity as only sections are chopped at a time in a 7 year rotation, allowing all the insects, plants and animals that rely on the woodland to move to the stage that suits them best. Sylvi was causing quite a stir all day and had a stream of visitors. . 

Monday came all too quickly and with Sylvi locked away in the bike shed I got on with teaching my timetable (though my thoughts were inevitably elsewhere). 

This week was punctuated with strikes and my journey on Wednesday took me to Beamz HQ rather than to school. A quick check of the brakes and a slight adjustment to the seat position was followed by long conversations with the work experience trainee who was busy designing a wooden water bottle holder. Of course I’d love one of these! 

It was soon the weekend again and I couldn’t settle to any work that I had planned. So off I went to spot some photo opportunities around Southampton.  

I have to agree with everyone who has spoken to me about Sylvi so far - she is beautiful - not only to see, but beautiful to ride too, as the 80 miles in two weeks can attest to. 

So where do we go from here? 

Stay tuned for next week's exciting episode…

April 2023 - It’s all about Sylvi

'Are you open tomorrow? As it is Easter Sunday?'

'We are open every day till the world is saved', replied Nick as we all tucked into our Beamz buns. (Sarah's own vegan hot no-cross buns that would feature a lot over the coming week)

It's Easter Saturday, and I've already made a couple of visits over the holiday, but this week I want to be there as much as I can to watch and hopefully help with the construction of Sylvi. 

If you have read posts about her before, you will know that Sylvi is, or will be a wooden bike. However, she doesn't quite exist yet. In fact, right now, she exists slightly less than she did last posting.

After a review of the design and some careful calculations, Nick decided that I could have my preferred shape. So new plans were drawn. And new computer models were made. Unfortunately, this means that none of the pieces I have previously discussed would be used for my bike as they wouldn't fit this new design. 

So we were starting again. And this week was the week we were going to do just that. I was very excited. 

We decided that it wasn't fair on the neighbours to run the noisiest of all the machines on an Easter Sunday, so instead, we set off with some donated willow that Nick had recently received from Bristol. It had been sat outside for about a fortnight and was already preparing to repopulate the world it now found itself in. This is what makes Willow such a fantastic resource for making bikes. It's readily available, relatively easy to grow, and perfect for coppicing.  

We, of course, had other plans for it. So out came something that closely resembles a stick insect. This is actually a steamer designed to heat the wood as efficiently as possible to easily remove the bark. 

As with many of the tools designed by Nick, it has been made from recycled materials, even down to the paint stripper kettle, the driver of the process. There is minimal water loss as the condensed water is recaptured and reused. The beams only needed about 25 mins in the steamer and were quickly replaced with more. 

With its personal sauna completed, the bark could be removed and, with care, would come off in one piece. Here's one I prepared earlier. The bark is not wasted either. Sarah uses this to make fantastic weaved baskets and runs workshops to enable others to have a try too. 

Once stripped, the beam is then drilled through the middle. This is not as easy as it sounds, as the wood is never dead straight. So regular adjustments had to be made throughout the process. 

Stripping (bark), chatting, coffee, and buns were perfect for a bank holiday Sunday. 

Monday started early, and today we were going to thin the main tubes to be used for Sylvi., The process has been redesigned since the last time I posted, making it even more efficient. You can see from the video that the wood is mechanically turned so that the router blade follows the contours of the outer surface. This gives the tube a set thickness. It is hard to see this from the top as each end is left thicker to ensure better joints later in the process. 

There was something quite magical about holding these hollowed tubes; knowing they would soon be transporting me around was very exciting. 

The next job was to make the top of the seat tube circular to enable it to receive the mechanism needed to hold the seat post. This required some gentle persuasion as the tube was only held on the lathe by a sizeable wooden bung. However, the shave used to make the mudguards was the perfect tool for the job, and the sound made by the gentle cutting sounded like a lullaby. 

Sylvi's tubes were fitted into a purpose build jig that would hold her in position till she was completed. 

The chain stays were the next component to be tackled. They first needed to be attached to the bottom bracket. The drill bit was, again, a specialist tool designed and built by Nick. The drill is held on a track to ensure it takes the right path and fits snuggly into the holes drilled the same way. 

A cut was needed at the other end of the stays for the metal dropouts that would hold the back wheel in place. This is currently done with a circular saw, but a new process is in the design phase, ready for the next bike to be made. The new process will enable volunteers to complete this job. At the moment, it is a job just for Nick. 

With the bottom bracket attached to the chain stays, the next job would be to create a seat for it at the bottom of the main posts. Again, Nick had the perfectly designed process to bring them together, ready to make a perfect joint. 

In a way, it's a shame that this craftsmanship will be covered with hemp once complete. It is so beautiful.

Silvi was slowly appearing before my very eyes. 

We had reached the final day of my holiday, so today, we would tackle the head tube. This starts life as a large beech dowel. Once cut to length, it is hollowed on the lathe and then shaped internally with a 45-degree chamfer to accept the head tube bearings. As with every process, the workshop is kept as dust free as possible using a vacuum. This not only keeps the area clean but also keeps the cutting bits cool. 

Nick did the first side, then guided me to do the second. I couldn't believe it when the bearing fitted perfectly. 

The last job of the day was to cut the down tube to the correct diameter to accept the head tube. This was guided in place using the jig that Sylvi was residing on. With the final cut complete and the head tube held in position, Sylvi's form could be clearly seen. 

The Easter holidays were now over, and I had to say goodbye to Nick, Sarah and Sylvi. Volunteering with Beamz was a brilliant way to spend my break, especially when working on my own bike. 

Thank you to Nick and Sarah for your infinite patience and for giving up your time, energy and Beamz buns for the whole week. 

I look forward to seeing the next stage of Sylvi's production, even if it is from a work-enforced distance. 

8th August 2022 - Name day!

What’s the picture? And what is a name day? I hear you ask. 

Well, according to https://www.namedaycalendar.com/nameday-meaning- 

A name day (also known as feast day) is a tradition in many countries in Europe of celebrating a day based on an individual's given name. The custom originated with the Catholic and Orthodox calendar of saints, where believers, named after a particular saint, would celebrate that saint's name day. In many countries, however, there is no longer any explicit connection to Christianity

So why am I writing about it here? Today is the 8th of August. And if we were in Finland or Estonia we would be celebrating all Sylvi’s and Sylvia’s. If this is your name - Happy Name day. 

Well obviously it is not my name day, but there is a reason for writing about it here. All will become clearer shortly. 

Today I've headed back round to the Beamz workshop to see some willow slowly being crafted into a bike. 

My bike! 

My bike, that somehow already has a name (not sure how that happened as I’ve never named any of my bikes). So, as you may have guessed by now, 

a. I have ordered a wooden bike from BEAMZ and 

b. Her name is Sylvi. 

And what better way to celebrate her name day than to investigate where she came from? 

Nick very kindly showed me the place where he harvested the willow that will make up a substantial part of Sylvi’s frame. The bush is coppiced - chopped to near the ground which encourages new straight growth. If you look carefully at the second picture, you can just spot where a stem was removed.  You can also see lots of very straight stems coming away from that cut area. It is hard to sense the scale on a photograph, but those branches were already my height and the willow had been cut less than a year ago. This is what makes these bikes so sustainable. The wood regrows within 8 years, locking in lots of carbon in the process. 

I had been round a few days earlier to see the finished jig that Nick had been making in the last post. It was strange to think that the ball of hemp would, at some point, become an integral part of the bike too. 

Nick handed me a beautiful piece of willow, explaining that I was now holding Silvi's top tube (crossbar - in old money) It had already been steamed and stripped of its outer layer, leaving a beautiful pink tint, and there was a hole that had been drilled through before it had been dried. Of course, being a natural product, the tube wasn't quite straight, but this bend was one of the reasons Nick had chosen it for this purpose. 

Our next job was to hollow out the tube - reducing the weight, but keeping the strength of the beam. Nick showed me a cutaway so that I could see how the tube would look on the inside.  

As with everything in this bike-building process, Nick had designed and built the tool needed for this job and it was a work of art in its own right. I watched as the router took away the core, while the guide wheels ensured that the tube retained the same thickness throughout. I was mesmerised. Zoom back to the very first photo to see the end result. 

On my next visit, Nick had a different bike set up on the jig. This one has been ordered before mine, So was slightly further ahead, but many of the processes are being done at the same time. 

Carefully scaled printouts of the CAD design are used to give the correct angles and measurements every step of the way. With the tubes held tightly in the jig, the ends are cut to exactly fit the diameter of the bottom bracket shell and the head tube. 

The next job is to make the chain stays, these are again willow, that is specially chosen for their shape. These are held in another purpose-built jig, ready to have the tops made into dowels that fit into the bottom bracket shell. Of course, there is no standard drill bit for the job, so Nick just designed and made one!

The next stage was to cut the other ends with a slot that would take the aluminium dropouts for the rear wheel. This again was all guided by the printout below showing exactly which measurement was needed. 

With those completed, all that was left to do was drill the holes in the bottom bracket shell ready to accept the dowels. 

My next visit proved to be quite spectacular. It was time to make the dropouts. It felt like some sort of righting of the universe that these would be made from recycled, broken, Audi alloy wheels. I've been smiling about that ever since. 

First, we needed a ‘pattern’. This was carefully cut out of a piece of foam and was not as easy as Nick made it look. I had to have a second attempt at mine when angling the knife made one of the lugs too narrow. 

Some sections needed to be extra thick, but not the 6mm that the main part was made from. No worries though. Nick had a machine that precision cut the foam to 3mm. It’s amazing what you can do with a heated wire and some milk bottles. 

The patterns were complete, they just needed a cardboard funnel on the top and we were ready to go. 

I’m not sure that we should have chosen the hottest day of the year so far to be smelting aluminium, but so be it! 

The pattern was ‘planted’ into a plant pot of sand, the pot was then filled and shaken to ensure that the sand had filled all the crevasses. The lid was just there to stop sand from falling down the funnel as this would need to be removed before pouring the molten metal. 

Aluminium has a melting point of 660 degrees centigrade, which is a lot hotter than your average camp stove. I was keen to see how Nick was going to melt these cut-up pieces of Audi. The process proved quite simple. A large crucible was placed into a plaster-lined bucket. This was packed out using lump wood charcoal. This was lit and superheated by an electric heat gun. Within 10 minutes the coals were red hot and the molten metal glowing orange. It was time for the pour. 

Then another agonising 10-minute wait for the metal and sand to cool before revealing the final piece. This piece was for the other bike as it needs an extra lug to attach a trailer. 

This is one of Sylvi’s dropouts after a bit of a clean-up but before the final machining. 

The next cast was an experiment. Could two pieces be cast at the same time? Again the patterns were made but this time joined together at the top with more foam. And it was back to melting metal and burying foam in the sand. 

It worked!!! 

Front dropouts are all cast, ready for separating, a quick clean up and then a final machine to make the important surfaces level.  I can’t wait for my next visit to see the next stage in BEAMZ cycle production. 

Thank you Nick and Sarah for your constant patience with me wanting to photograph or video everything, and then answering all my silly questions. It is always a joy to pop by. 

For more information about these wooden bikes, take a look at the BEAMZ website 

All photos and videos are my own. The wood is kindly provided by Mother Nature and the aluminium by drivers who think their cars are invincible. 

Keep an eye out for the next instalment. If you want to be notified about future posts - click here. (I apologise now for the adverts that come within the notification email, I have no control over them) - ignore them and just click the link in the mail to get to the latest post. 

Thanks for reading, now go get out on your bike.