Wooden bike

When most people think of bicycle frames, they have in mind materials running the gamut of aluminum, chrome-moly steel and carbon fiber. Not so a timber technology student in Germany. For his two-wheeled creation, he turned to the beech tree.

More specifically, Jens Eichler got himself some sheets of beech plywood, along with a strong glue (phenol-resorcinol) and some power tools. After a few months of playing with the concept, he set to work in August 2006 on what would become a tandem bicycle he calls "Renovatia."

Captions by Jonathan Skillings, staff writer, CNET News.com