President Joko Widodo invited Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to cycle one kilometer and take in the fresh air from the Presidential Palace to the Raasa Restaurant in the Bogor Botanical Gardens on Monday, 6 June.

This is the first time the President has invited state guests to ride at the Bogor Botanical Gardens. Moreover, most of the bicycle components used are made from bamboo which grows in Indonesia, making the bicycle more environmentally friendly and classy. That's the first impression that can be seen from the original product of Kandangan Village, Temanggung Regency, Central Java.

The President's bamboo bicycle, which bears the trademark Spedagi and meaning "dawn bicycle," is made of bamboo. For Singgih Susilo Kartono as the creator, the brand was inspired by his morning riding habit around village roads, often alone, with his wife Tri Wahyuni at his side or with family members.

The bamboo bicycle wasn't invented by Singgih, an alumnus of the Bandung Institute of Technology. Instead, he drew inspiration from a similar work called Bamboosero created by California-based bicycle designer Craig Calfee, which picture Singgih saw online.

However, according to Nicholas Aleles in Management of the Design and Construction of the WPI Bamboo Bicycle, the world's first bamboo bicycle was created and copyrighted in England in the 19th century. It was then introduced to the general audience on 26 April 1894 by the Bamboo Cycle Company.

Calfee produced their first bamboo bicycle in 1995. The former cycling courier was also the designer of the world's first carbon-tech bicycle. In 1991, the Calfee product was used by the leading cyclist fellow Californian Greg LeMond to race in the Tour de France event. In 1986, 1989, and 1990, LeMond won the Tour de France three times.

Cupped Frames

Singgih was moved because, although being a design scholar, he couldn’t employ the abundant bamboo plants in the area around his house to create a product of high artistic value.

The process of creating a Spedagi bamboo bicycle is quite challenging. Initially, Singgih used small round bamboo, similar to Calfee's original design, for the frame of the first generation Spedagi bicycle in early 2013. Through a series of trial and error, he eventually came up with a robust and comfortable bamboo bicycle design. The production began at the end of 2014.

"Bamboo is the best vibration absorber because of its undeniable strength and suitability for bicycle materials. With good treatment and coating, bamboo bicycles can be used like bicycles in general," said Singgih.

Singgih uses betung bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper), a type with a big diameter of 12 to 18 cm, a blade thickness of 1.5 to 2 cm, and a length of 40 to 50 cm for each segment, to create the next generation Spedagi. Betung bamboo thrives in Kandangan Village and its surroundings. He connects the two betung blades in a tangkup shape, which is akin to the bamboo ribs that support a house's roof tiles.

Through a series of mechanical sanding techniques, a circular frame resembling an iron pipe is formed or a slightly oval model is formed. To make it even stronger, this bamboo frame is spliced, covered in epoxy resin glue, and coated to protect the bamboo slats from water or other materials that will damage them.

The pieces of the clutch frame are connected with special metal joints (lugs) to form a complete bicycle frame. In the latest Spedagi model, he purposefully  shaped the frame slightly oval to create a much stronger and more beautiful bicycle.

Singgih's products are not the work of a large-scale factory with massive production. Spedagi is the result of handicrafts from local skilled workers at the Magno Workshop, Kandangan Village. Magno, a digital wooden radio made by Singgih, is very popular in Europe and Japan and is renowned across the world.

One unit of Spedagi bicycle frame can be completed in 60 working hours. Currently, there are several varieties of Spedagi. Spedagi Dwiguna (dual track) is designed for rural or urban roads, whereas Spedagi Dalanrata (road bike) is intended for smooth roads. Meanwhile, Spedagi Gowesmulyo (joy bike) and Spedagi Rodacilik (minivelo) are made for short-distance cycling in urban areas.

Each kind of Spedagi costs between Rp5.5 million to Rp6.5 million. Two years are offered as a warranty on Singgih’s Spedagi goods. From one stick of bamboo betung of 20 meters long, he was able to make five to seven units of high-value Spedagi. A remarkable improvement for bamboo’s additional value, which is sometimes overlooked despite its many advantages. The welfare of the people of Kandangan Village was also improved.

To make it even cooler, Singgih created a special bamboo helmet for Spedagi owners. The design is similar to a crank or dustpan, a tool used to collect trash when sweeping a floor or yard. The cranks for this bicycle helmet are smaller in size and designed to fit the head securely. To prevent the mini cradle from falling, a small rope is pinned as a support and is hanging under the chin

World-class Bicycle

"The president invited me to ride a bamboo bicycle in the Botanical Gardens and offered to take it home to Australia. Later you will see me pedaling the only bamboo bicycle in Canberra," said Albanese, who took office as Australia's prime minister on 23 May.

The President has owned four bicycles in total and has twice purchased them from Singgih. The first was in 2016 and was used in early 2019 at an event at Gelora Bung Karno, Senayan. The bicycle used by the Australian President and Prime Minister at the Bogor Botanical Gardens was purchased for the second time when the head of state visited the Turetogo Bamboo Campus in Ngada Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. This coincided with the commemoration of the Birthday of Pancasila on 1 June, which was held in Ende.

In addition to gaining praise from the President, Spedagi also caught the attention of the Indonesian Ambassador to Bulgaria Iwan Bogananta, who presented Spedagi to Bulgarian President Rumen Radev through the Presidential Advisor for Youth and Sports Georgi Alexandrov in Sofia on 2 February 2021. The handover of this unique souvenir marked the close relationship between the two diplomatic partner countries that has been running for 65 years.

Additionally, Spedagi received a Bronze Award at the DFA–Design for Asia Awards held in Hong Kong in 2017. Spedagi also won a prestigious award, the Gold Award for Good Design Japan 2018 after being chosen from nearly 4,500 proposals from around the world.

Singgih bamboo bicycle has passed a series of trials, one of which is by the Japan Vehicle Inspection Association (JVIA). The award and success in the test for the quality of this original Indonesian bamboo bicycle product became a valuable asset for Singgih. Moreover, it comes from a nation with high requirements for a quality product.

Spedagi is used as an example of a successful (best practice) use of added value bamboo in Japan. Former research professor at Tokyo Zokei University Fumikazu Masuda and his partner Kensuke Asuka are interested in establishing a Spedagi branch. It is located in Ato Village, Yamaguchi Prefecture which is known as a bamboo granary with 12 thousand ha of plant ecosystems from the grass family.

Additionally, Spedagi successfully completed an 800-kilometer test ride from Jakarta to Malang in Indonesia without suffering any damage. At its peak, Singgih, who collaborated with cyclist Vidi Widyastomo, took part in the most prestigious cycling endurance event in the world, the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur, which covered a total distance of 1,200 km, from 18 to 22 August 2019. Vidi participated in this event with bicycles from Spedagi of the type Dalanrata.

Through this, Spedagi Singgih has demonstrated that bamboo may be used for purposes other than those of a raft, bridge, or house pole. Bamboo bicycles are increasingly catapulting bamboo plants as having various benefits for humans as well as reducing disaster risk.

Writer: Anton Setiawan
Editors: Elvira Inda Sari/Siti Chodijah
Translator: Irvina Falah