Godrej & Boyce Launches Bambusa Range Of Bicycles

Indian conglomerate Godrej Group’s holding company Godrej & Boyce has launched its premium range of bicycles, the Bambusa. The frame of the bicycles are built from bamboo and the cycles are exclusively available for sale on the crowdfunding platform www.fueladream.com. 

The durability and lightness of bamboo frames are superior to steel and aluminium, as claimed by Godrej & Boyce. Since bamboo is a fast-growing grass, it is sustainable to make as well. Their manufacturing process is not reliant on electricity from coal-burning power plants, and the economic benefits are spread from sourcing-to-sale.

The bicycle comes with an 8-speed Shimano gear system and its components are imported from Taiwan. The bicycle employs front and rear disc brakes. The maximum seat height is 1066mm. The weight varies from 9 to 12kg, depending upon the thickness of the bamboo. With a total of 25 units, the bicycle is limited edition. They are currently available in white and brown saddle options. There are ten cycles available for a crowd-funded price of Rs 39,999 as the early-bird offer (valid till stocks last), after which the customers will have to pay the full MRP, which is Rs 44,999. The bicycles come with a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects only.

Commenting on the launch, Vijay Crishna, Executive Director, Godrej Lawkim, said, “At Godrej & Boyce, we are constantly striving to come out with ever more innovative products that our customers find useful for their needs. But innovation is married to sustainability. The launch of the Bambusa bicycle marks a major leap in this direction for us as we seek to push the boundaries of what’s possible in an environmentally and economically sound manner. Bamboo has a greater tensile strength (or resistance to be pulled apart) than steel, while its attribute of being 4 times as absorbent as carbon fibre gives a smoother ride even on bad roads. Bamboo’s strength is its ability to bend – that’s its miracle. We selected a special bamboo species called ‘Pseudo-Oxytenanthera Stocksii’ which grows near our factory site and is particularly well-suited for building bamboo-frame bikes. No two bamboo stalks grow the same way, so each special, organically aesthetic frame is unique to your bike.

Our Bamboo bike-frames are beautifully hand-crafted, each frame being “one of a kind”. We have a carefully laid-out process to identify suitable bamboo stems, select these to use on our frames, treat them appropriately to protect them from insects and the environment – only after which do we build the frame. The entire capability has been developed in-house at our factory located outside Pune.”

“Having travelled 4400kms across the length of India during the monsoons, the bike has proved its strength and sturdiness on the road under the toughest conditions,” added Crishna.

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