Wooden handlebars

Just wondering if any of you are using wooden bars on your bikes? Saw a bike with what looked like a thick wood dowel as a handlebar the other day and it looked great so thinking of using it for my next build. Could you just use a wooden pole and cut to the right length and sand/stain/weatherproof? I've looked at some online but there £200+ which to me seems insane for a straight piece of wood!

I reckon smash out some bamboo. Standard wood would be as heavy as a Skrillex bass line. Which is bad. And really heavy.

Spotted at an Alleycat in Milan last year

Yeah bamboo may be a good idea, it's purely atheistic but love the look of straight wood bars, what about a wood pole cut down into the right length?

Broom Broom...

Some decent info here: http://www.lfgss.com/thread34542.html

Yeah checked that post out earlier, just wanted to see if any amateurs without woodwork experiece had any input
On it.

I wouldn't trust anything that wasn't laminated. I imagine a solid piece could eventually fail horribly. Face aesthetics>bike aesthetics.
Then again, I wouldn't ever put wooden bars on a bike..

Hope this embeds, but just something to consider

Nope, if anyone can get it to embed then great, but it's a guy who does paint effect wood grain, and might be worth a play with trying, if you want the look.

http://www.robswoodgrainbikes.com/Home

it did not imbed.

Mmmm, a good bit of craftsmanship... Here's an easier link http://vimeo.com/24938567

dont like

8/10 wood not bang

I reckon smash out some bamboo. Standard wood would be as heavy as a Skrillex bass line. Which is bad. And really heavy.

the problem with bamboo here is that it would be difficult to shape and fasten tightly.

i would use a nice piece of well seasoned ash thats been quartered and with the grain poining up like in a step of a flooring beam. ash is strong and absorbant of shock. ideal really... perhaps more reliable than ally...? any ideas on that?

yew would be good and reliable but heavy, but one could make it thinner where you don't need metal fittings around it like stem and brake or gear levers

Hammer handles have a similar requirement spec, so Hickory, Ash or Oak would be a good place to start.