BIKING has become both a leisure and essential activity for many Dabawenyos especially during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in 2020 when travel and movement restrictions were stricter.
Now, more than a year into the pandemic, bike lanes abound on many major roads in Davao City. The lack of bike lanes pre-pandemic prohibited Marlon Luces, a senior high school teacher, from biking around the city because of fear of bigger vehicles. After all, his father-in-law died in a vehicular accident, which made his wife more hesitant about highway biking.
Marlon is a senior high school teacher at the Davao City National High School teaching subjects under the Accountancy, Business, and Management strand. They were originally from Cateel, Davao Oriental but decided to move to Davao City in 2012 after Typhoon Pablo hit their area. Marlon and his family still visit their lot in Cateel to plant and maintain trees and bamboo.
After ECQ was lifted in Davao City, his son would be invited by his friends to bike outside the subdivision but the bike they owned was old and Marlon did not trust its capacity to support long-distance biking. His son asked that they buy a new one but Marlon was hesitant. He thought of making a unique bike with a strength comparable to metal or carbon bikes. He said it would also be an interesting conversation piece among peers.
Although he does not consider himself a crafty person or an artist, Marlon knows his way around making a bamboo bike. He said the bamboo poles must be at least three to four years old to be strong enough. Then comes the treatment, which is necessary so the material does not get infested with weevils (bokbok). He asked the janitors in their school for the cut bamboo which he used to make a bike.
“Daghan na pod ko mga creation made from hardwood then na realize nako na aside sa kamahal sa wood halos hurot na pod mga kahoy nato. Hastang luuya na sa kinaiyahan (I’ve had a lot of creations made of hardwood. Some wood is expensive. Aside from that, I realize that this takes a toll on the environment)” he said.
The treatment process, according to Marlon, is a little costly if you use chemicals. Instead, he used a torch and wipe approach. This helps the bamboo sweat out moisture, which he wipes away afterward. Bugs love moisture and starch, and one would not want their presence when riding a wooden bike. The process takes around an hour, while the succeeding air-drying takes seven to 14 days.
He scouted for old and damaged bike frames from junk shops and used its head tube, BB shell, and dropouts. He used a frame jig to connect the metal inserts to the bamboo bike. Using the frame jig, he connects these metal inserts to the bamboo bike frame. He then wraps them with abaca fiber with epoxy resin.
Because he only did it after work, it took him 20 days to complete the bike, including the treatment and air-drying. It was a tedious process, but he said it was worth it. Because biking in Davao City is only allowed within a 10-kilometer radius, his bamboo bike has already been to the airport, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Panacan Depot, and has been around Sasa.
The quarantine has allowed him to explore more woodcraft projects as he has more time spent at home.