Aluminum and steel alloys are the most popular materials for making bicycle frames. Carbon fibre and titanium make more expensive posh bikes. But if you’re looking for something unique and organic, consider grass. For millennia, bamboo has been used in many parts of the world to make houses, bridges, rafts, and many other things. To me, there’s nothing to doubt about the strength and durability of the wood.

One manufacturer of them is in Chiang Rai. Founded and managed by American expat Phil Webb, Webbworks has been exporting its bamboo bicycles to 10 or so countries since 2010. The company, which creates jobs and passes on the art of bike building to locals who’ve formed a nine-man team at its workshop, produces four models of bike frames for different purposes, from commuting and touring to track, cross country and cyclocross riding. Some of the models are designed to suit more than one type of riding. So it depends on the buyers to decide what they want the bikes to be and what components to add on.