Renovo R4 Pursuit Wooden Bike – Is Wood is Good?

Being environmentally friendly is the new trend, and while companies make attempts to shine ‘greenly’ in the consumer eye, Renovo Hardwood Bicycles launches the R4 Pursuit Road Bike, with a wooden frame. The bike features an all-wood rear end with aluminum dropouts and derailleur hanger, laminated top tube, steel head tube insert, aluminum seat tube insert, sealed internal cable routing, external cable guides and front derailleur pulley.

The bikes are built using a monocoque (hollow) frame. Two halves are bonded together along the long axis of the bicycle. The technique was developed in Germany during the first World War for all-wood aircraft and, as the lightest method of construction, has been used in high performance aircraft, race cars and carbon bicycles.

Renovo R4 Pursuit Wooden Bike

Much care is taken by Renovo in finding the right timber for the customer. They spend ridiculous amounts of time at four different specialty lumber yards searching for and choosing the perfect lumber and much more time back at the shop deciding how to cut and match the 8 to 24 pieces of wood that make up a frame.  The result is a super tough, beautiful and high-performing bicycle.

Even the smallest details of this bike are carefully taken care of. For example, the external cables have special guides and the internal cables have sealed routing. Each bike is custom made with select woods as opted for by the owner. Each frame is unique, thanks to the color, grain and figure of wood. The Renovo R4 Pursuit comes for $2,950.

Why wood?

• Lightweight, a frame weighs from 3.5 to 4.5 pounds, bikes, 16.5 to 20 pounds.
• A magically smooth ride thanks to wood’s unique ability to absorb vibration, you feel the difference immediately.
• Stiffness to order: from carbon-stiff hickory and others, to the supple smoothness of laminated bamboo; you can tailor the stiffness and ride to what you want, not just what comes off a production line.
• The hardwood frame is remarkably tough. It easily withstands impacts that ruin butted metal or carbon frames.
• The fatigue life of wood rivals carbon and is substantially longer than aluminum or steel. The Renovo is an heirloom quality frame.
• The Renovo frame is environmentally friendly, with sustainable woods, bamboo and low VOC waterborne sealers and finishes.