ORNUS is an Italian brand redefining what a gravel bike can be – with their hand made wooden frames.

We’ve seen these before and they’re usually heavy as heck and look a bit kooky – but not this one.

The weight? 1.6kg, not bad at all, and it’s a beautiful looking bike – ands each frame comes with a lifetime warranty, so confident are they in its durability.

“We create wooden gravel bicycles, handmade in Tuscany, born from the intersection of passion, craftsmanship, and innovation. Our mission is to offer a sustainable alternative to traditional frames, ensuring superior performance in terms of comfort, vibration absorption, and durability.”

They have two high-performance models that blend innovation, style and real sustainability. The race-focused GRAIN delivers speed with a stiff bottom bracket, compact geometry and natural vibration damping, while the adventure-ready RADIX offers stable, relaxed handling for long rides and bikepacking.

Price for their Grain frameset is US $6,000.

ORNUS hopes to draw people away from carbon and aluminium frames with the superior vibration dampening qualities of wood. Beyond smooth ride quality, these bikes reduce the environmental footprint of traditional carbon manufacturing. A fast, capable gravel bike that also brings you closer to nature — literally and sustainably.

They ask on their site:

Why a wooden bike?

• Vibration damping: wood has a high internal damping coefficient, which reduces vibration transmission compared to carbon and metals.
• Mechanical strength: the weight-to-strength ratio of ash is comparable to that of construction steel, with greater ductility than carbon.
• Durability: stabilized through drying processes and specific treatments, it maintains performance over time and is less susceptible to brittle fractures compared to carbon.
• Comfort: the natural elasticity of wood improves adherence on uneven surfaces and reduces mechanical stress on the cyclist.
• Redundancy: lamellar stratification stops the propagation of potential microcracks, increasing safety.
• Sustainability: it is renewable, requires little energy to process, and helps reduce environmental impact.
• Silence and naturalness: it provides a smoother and quieter riding experience, amplifying the connection with nature.
• Identity: each frame is unique, with grain patterns that tell the story of the tree it comes from.

I love these, ORNUS, if you’re reading, CrankPunk needs a new bike spo0nsor for 2026!