slow rollin

The main issue is as the OP you posted a "hot take" snippet of the article and then had a popcorn gif after that signaled you wanted to talk about this take. If you opened with "ex pro female racer starts her own bike brand" or something along that lines the fact that it's not carbon would be only known to the readers.
It's a logical choice when you don't have a bajillion dollars for mold prototyping. You can get a couple guys to weld up different angles or tubes instead of paying for expensive molds.
Another brand that's similar is atherton bikes. Most of the family raced and they ended up starting a bike brand where you get semi-custom mtb's. They use carbon tubes and titanium lugs and supposedly make bespoke lugs to order.
I haven't met a bike I don't like.
Most of the carbon parts I have are controls like seatposts,handlebars, and a crankset. I like the seatposts since I end up with lots of extension on many bikes and at my rotund size the flex is large and nice. My carbon bars have tanked a tree at 15mph offroad without a scratch.
Neutral on the crank.
I like aluminum since whenever I pick it up it's nice and cool in my hands, you also get some of the best advantages of carbon at a much cheaper price. Like hydroformed aluminum allowing weird, neat shapes that can tweak a frames characteristic, or the fact it pretty much doesn't rust.
Steel is nice since it's real, and I can weld it. Has the most durable threads for bb's and just looks classy. No, I still haven't dented a top tube. At my weight most bikes are light enough, or the heavy ones have enough gears I can pedal them okay anyways.

Thank you for reading my blog

PeteHski

Really? I thought carbon was just an efficient frame material used for modern mid/high-end race and leisure bikes. I also have a cf tennis racquet. So Is that cosplay too?

indyfabz

Until it insploded.

Chuck M 

I'm happy to read these threads and find I am not a luddite. When I bought my last new bike, a 2018 Trek, carbon fiber was way more expensive but I did get disc brakes. As much as I'm sure I would enjoy CF and electronic shifting, I'm frugal and or cheap, not opposed to new tech. I'll likely always be a curmudgeon when it comes to some things, but never a luddite.

Mackers

Looks just like every other bike out there these days.
This is <$200 off the peg on Alibaba, with hopefully less of a gap between rear wheel and seat tube.



Yes, I know this has cleaner attachment of the seat stays

wheelreason

Split bamboo, dry fly only...

rosefarts

Carbon Fiber is all over the operating room. There are entire tables made of it and huge portions of other tables. Whole instrument sets. Attachments to others. It’s all radiolucent, Super heavy duty stuff. Gets exposed to harsh cleaners, cooked at 270 degrees daily, super heavy patients laying on them, and there always seems to be a hammer involved. It doesn’t break.

For your valve, I can’t say I’ve seen carbon on those but it could exist.

That reminds me, maybe we should all start riding nitinol bikes. It’ll pop back into shape after assploding.

t2p

new tech ?

Trek has been producing great carbon fiber bikes since (at least) the early 90’s

welcome to the grand illusion — come on in and see what’s happening — pay the price - get your tickets for the show

t2p

and bike components

and bike frames

and jet engine parts - including the fan blades on the largest and most powerful jet engine produced

Frkl

I keep almost replying to this thread then thinking better of it. So i will just post that.

Koyote

All of these posters who are too smart to buy cf frames apparently aren't smart enough to see the inherent absurdity in the linked article. I mean, a person who's making aluminum frames claims that most riders don't need cf frames. Sure, she's totally objective!

Oh, and I'm still waiting for MattoftheRocks to show me where I ever heaped hate on steel frames.

easyupbug 

Yes, it's only getting up to 62º today in San Diego.

t2p

but she has an impressive engineering, design, and manufacturing resume !

CAT7RDR

On a side note: I really enjoy my Kestrel RT-1000 carbon frame/fork Ultegra 6800 endurance bike.
Kestrel went out of business but did introduce the first carbon framed road bike in 1987 with the Kestrel 4000.

3alarmer 

...so you're arguing this is a marketing ploy ? And that the absurdity is based on obvious marketing strategy, that I am too stupid to spot ? Thankfully, marketing doesn't enter into the world of CF frames.

Iride01 

It's hard to find a steel bike today that competes with CF and comes with the same tier level of components at the same price and the geometry desired. And... comes in my preferred color.

Chuck M 

For reelz? I thought that was fake news back then. But I do remember looking at JC Penny catalogs in the 70s admiring disc brakes on some of their bikes.

Polaris OBark

Custom.

If you are going to pay that much for a bike, anyway, get a bike that is made to fit you exactly, in your favorite color, brake type, etc.

Iride01 

I'd not pay to get something I can't try first. And I don't think I'd get a custom bike with Ultegra Di2 for the price I got my Tarmac at.

WaveyGravey

I have two bikes with carbon fiber forks.

3alarmer 

...the top end cycle sold by the company under discussion has a CF fork. It's probably the preferred and most economical way to go, at this point. Alloy is not a real good fork material, and there seem to be few people manufacturing high quality steel forks any more, like there were in ancient times.

13ollocks

Patience - diatribes of this magnitude take time….🤔

3alarmer 

...I thought this for a long time, too. Then I read a few threads here in General Cycling and posted a little bit in them. Let me tell you, I quickly got schooled. It turns out I cannot possibly enjoy the sport of cycling without a CF frame. It's simply inconceivable.

3alarmer 

...is there some long tradition in bicycle manufacture and marketing, where the name on the downtube is associated with engineering, design, and manufacturing ? This is news to me. I had presumed all that stuff was contracted out or done by other employees of the company. This must be like one of those one woman shows on Broadway, I guess.

I bet this is why Cannondale was so successful with stuff like the Lefty fork and BB30....superior engineering and design resume for the win.

Iride01 

You can't enjoy cycling if you are going to worry about what other people think of what you are riding.

It's only you that seems to have put this idea forward.... No one else said you can't enjoy cycling with any other frame material.