The SplinterBike has no screws, bolts, metal, plastic or rubber. It has one gear and no brakes, and it's going for a speed record

We've featured a bamboo bike on this blog before, with thick sections of the segmented grass used for the tubes, joined with resin and finished with traditional components.

But the SplinterBike is something far more exotic – every single part is wooden; wheels, frame, gears. Even, painfully, the saddle.

Not a single bolt or screw has been used, nothing metal, plastic or rubber.

At 31kg, and with one fixed gear and no brakes, it's unlikely to win awards for practicality, but as an engineering exercise it's a marvel.

It began as a £1 bet last year between joiner Michael Thompson and friend James Tully as they watched the Tour of Britain zoom past Michael's front garden.

Michael had always claimed he could make anything from wood, and James called his bluff in a big way.

More than 1,000 man hours and a considerable amount of skill and ingenuity later, the SplinterBike was ready to ride.

The axles are made of the hardwood ekki; the cogs, wheels and frame are birch ply; and oily ironwood was used in place of metal bearings where moving parts met. The pedals and handlebars were made from an old broom handle salvaged from Michael's shed.

The trickiest part was the drivetrain – how do you make a wooden chain?

Well, by cunningly replacing it with a huge 128-tooth cog that links the chainring and the gear on the rear wheel. In fact there are six cogs, as the drivetrain is replicated on both sides of the frame to add strength.

You may also have noticed that the frame features a pear, which Michael explains is because at some point the project will inevitably "go pear-shaped".

Now that they have what they believe is the world's first rideable wooden bicycle (others have been built that were too fragile to use) they intend to set a land speed record.

This has proven harder than anticipated, despite no existing record to beat.

"Originally we thought 'wooden bike, bang it down the road, follow it with a car, watch the speedo – that's it, job done'," said Michael.

"But it doesn't work like that. Not if you want to be going into the history books. There are a lot of rules."

They have recruited the Speed Record Club to help, but now need £7,500 to pay for timekeeping and adjudication. They hope that a sponsor will come forward, but also want to raise as much money as possible for disaster relief charity ShelterBox.

The 4:1 gear ratio should allow James to get the SplinterBike up to 31mph – if it stays in one piece, and if he's done enough training.

"It should go the speed, it's all down to James now. I've done my bit, there's a lot of work that's gone into it," said Michael.

Having seen it in the flesh I'm optimistic it will run. The build quality and design are fantastic – but, scarily, it has never been ridden because of a lack of a venue with a smooth enough surface.