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Get a Load of Ghana's Agona Gravel Bike: A Bamboo Machine Selling for Under $1,400

Let's face it; we've seen bicycles built from steel, titanium, aluminum, and carbon fiber. However, few people can fathom that a bike can also be created from nothing more than wood. In the Agona gravel bike's case, bamboo is the vegetation used.
Agona 8 photos
Photo: Booomers
AgonaAgonaAgona CockpitAgona SeatAgona BrakesAgona CranksetAgona Shifter and Brakes
Folks, I've seen bikes built from wood before, but when I ran across the Agona, a bicycle built out of nothing but bamboo and a touch of sisal, a species of plant native to southern Mexico, I knew that you had to see it too. Best of all, it comes in with a relatively budget-friendly price, for a gravel bike, that is.

Now, the minds behind the Agona is a crew dubbed Booomers. What's rather neat about this team is that it was started out in Accra, Ghana, by Kwabena Danso and a group of fellow students. After setting up the Yonso Foundation, a party that offers educational programs to children, Danso met Craig Calfee and, upon seeing the properties that bamboo can offer the cycling industry, decided to build bikes from this material. In the process, having grown to distribute bikes worldwide, including a few for U.S. cyclists too.

Exploring the Booomers website, I couldn't find anything regarding this bike's ability to handle stresses or how large a rider can enjoy the wonders of bamboo, but there are plenty of details regarding the components found as standard. Now, don't go losing your lunch over this following comment, but this bike is currently selling for no more than $1,360 (€1,270 at current exchange rates). That's all you need to own a cool bike built out of overgrown plant chutes.

Agona
Photo: Booomers
To break things down a bit, let's look at the frame to see how it's built. Peering closely at the contraption, the components composed of bamboo include the top tube, down tube, seat stays, and chain stays. As for the sisal I mentioned, it's used to create portions of the bike where the bamboo tubes will meet. It's used to create a head tube, BB, a segment at the top of the seat post, and solid support for the bike's dropouts. Just the frame alone amounts to 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of this bike's final weight, depending on whether you strip off the stock gear and add your favorite. Standard, 12 kilograms (26.4 pounds) is all this puppy weighs.

Continuing this exploration of Agona, you'll find that it's built like most other gravel bikes on the market, with a stiff fork and no rear suspension, just bamboo's natural flexing properties, and a pair of Maxxis Rambler tires to soften things up. If you want to spice things up, you can always add a suspension fork to a gravel bike; you wouldn't be the first.

Agone is designed to run a 10-speed drivetrain, and it's here we start to see some of the budget-friendly features of the bike. The shifter and derailleur are supplied by Microshift, the XLE lineup, and the crankset is from Prowheel. TRP hydraulic disc brakes tie the rest of the bike off.

Agona Brakes
Photo: Booomers
At the end of the day, I need to point out that Booomers does mention that this bike can be taken out on longer adventures, and if we take a inspect the fork and dropouts, we can see there are mounts available for things like cargo racks, meaning you really can take this bugger out for longer journeys.

You know, it's not every day that you see someone riding around on a bicycle built out of bamboo and one that won't leave you wondering if you have questionable spending habits. Heck, you could easily become an authorized reseller of Agona bikes; don't worry, there seems to be some room for a profit with these buggers. Happy riding and wear a helmet.
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About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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