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Is a carbon road bike overkill for commuting(vs aluminum)?

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Is a carbon road bike overkill for commuting(vs aluminum)?

Old 08-05-20, 04:41 PM
  #26  
vespasianus
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Originally Posted by chas58
I laugh at the comments about carbon being fragile (although it certainly can get cosmetic wear). I never seem to sell my bikes and have a variety from the last century. The only ones I have any problems with are the Aluminum ones which seem to be more susceptible to corrosion, and are too brittle to bend without breaking (mostly an issue with dropouts and hangers) Long, long ago, I had a carbon bike fly off my car at 80mph. I checked the frame thoroughly, but no damage, and it is still going strong decades later. The aluminum parts attached to it were trashed of course.
1) Carbon is fragile. I cracked the top tube of my new bike with just a 12" fall.The number one reason for top tube cracks of carbon bikes are from the handlebars hitting them. Aluminum can also be made to be fragile. No one doubts that.

2) "Long, long ago, I had a carbon bike fly off my car at 80mph. I checked the frame thoroughly, but no damage, and it is still going strong decades later."

Yeah, I don't actually believe you.

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Old 08-06-20, 08:43 AM
  #27  
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Yeah, I don't actually believe you.
I know right? "winning" an argument on the forum is more important than lying or in sharing personal experiences in order to help the bike community, right?

You make a good point. I certainly believe you. Carbon can not take a point load very well. It will loose the "sword fight" with a steel fork. It can take a high torsional load. So yeah, in my case it can fly off the car (no point loading) but in your case you can't hit it with a hammer or a handlebar (point loading). I have old aluminum bikes have gotten dented or corroded to the point where they are not really usable. My old steel and carbon bikes are fine. But, that is just my experience.
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Old 08-06-20, 08:52 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by vespasianus
But to me, the question is where is the bike kept after and what is going to potential bang into it or lean up against it?
It’s kept in a bike cage with all the other commuter bikes in my building. If I had to lock it up on the street I wouldn’t, but then again I wouldn’t lock up my aluminum TT bike or my Al/CF cross bike on the street either. But that has nothing to do with the frameset material.
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Old 08-06-20, 08:59 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by chas58
I know right? "winning" an argument on the forum is more important than lying or in sharing personal experiences in order to help the bike community, right?

You make a good point. I certainly believe you. Carbon can not take a point load very well. It will loose the "sword fight" with a steel fork. It can take a high torsional load. So yeah, in my case it can fly off the car (no point loading) but in your case you can't hit it with a hammer or a handlebar (point loading). I have old aluminum bikes have gotten dented or corroded to the point where they are not really usable. My old steel and carbon bikes are fine. But, that is just my experience.
So, I was talking with a guy about carbon repair and he showed me what carbon is good at and what it is not good at. He let me hit a piece of carbon tube with the flat top of a hammer and it did not seem to do much of anything. Now, I did not slam it but I hit it with what I thought was a good bit of force. Next, he had me hit it with what almost looked like an axe edge and as you would almost expect, even a light hit cracked the tube. Sharp impacts are something that carbon can't take.

My bike fell very gently but hit the bottom of my park stand. The right side specifically and caused the crack.

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Old 08-06-20, 09:18 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by caloso
It’s kept in a bike cage with all the other commuter bikes in my building. If I had to lock it up on the street I wouldn’t, but then again I wouldn’t lock up my aluminum TT bike or my Al/CF cross bike on the street either. But that has nothing to do with the frameset material.
See, I would worry about the bike being hit by other people when they are removing their bike.
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Old 08-06-20, 03:20 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by vespasianus
So, I was talking with a guy about carbon repair and he showed me what carbon is good at and what it is not good at. He let me hit a piece of carbon tube with the flat top of a hammer and it did not seem to do much of anything. Now, I did not slam it but I hit it with what I thought was a good bit of force. Next, he had me hit it with what almost looked like an axe edge and as you would almost expect, even a light hit cracked the tube. Sharp impacts are something that carbon can't take.

My bike fell very gently but hit the bottom of my park stand. The right side specifically and caused the crack.
ouch, that is really painful to see. Were they able to fix it?
I was listening to a podcast the other day where they would scan the frame, determine the internal damage, and make the bike better than new.
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Old 08-06-20, 07:49 PM
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Originally Posted by caloso
It’s kept in a bike cage with all the other commuter bikes in my building. If I had to lock it up on the street I wouldn’t, but then again I wouldn’t lock up my aluminum TT bike or my Al/CF cross bike on the street either. But that has nothing to do with the frameset material.
Originally Posted by chas58
ouch, that is really painful to see. Were they able to fix it?
I was listening to a podcast the other day where they would scan the frame, determine the internal damage, and make the bike better than new.
It is getting fixed now. Took it to a local bike shop and they pointed me in the direction of a shop that could help. From what I am told, they should be able to fix it and basically bring it back to new. Hoping to have it back in the next few days.
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