bmw5nkj

all carbon owners click this link!
https://www.bustedcarbon.com/

Doohickie

See, that's the thing: Short of doing Non-Destructive Inspection every time your CF bike falls over, you don't really know, do you?

Amen.

But... I don't demand the same thing out of my bike as the pros, and the pros don't demand the same thing out of the bike that I do. Totally different set of design parameters. That's like saying that, if I was commuting in a car, I should be using an open-wheel Formula 1 racer. That is just..... dumb.

I crashed a 24-year-old steel bike last year. Roughed it up pretty good- front wheel was pushed back to the downtube; downtube itself was buckled; the top tube was visibly stretched. I knew what the damage was though. I bent the fork back to straight and rode the bike as it was for another six months till I got something different. If it was CF it would have either splintered and been totally useless, or looked okay but without a thorough NDI I wouldn't know if the frame's integrity was intact. Bottom line is that if I had crashed a CF frame that badly, I wouldn't have ridden it ever again. The steel frame, while obviously compromised, was good for another six months of use (and is probably still pretty safe).

KiddSisko

So you're content to assume his CF frame failed simply because it exploded (as designed) because of some minor impact during a race? I'm not. I want all the facts. And I'm not wringing my hands until I get the facts either. I'm also not going to be racing any time soon with my CF frame bike, so my chances of hand wringing is even less.

Doohickie

Kind of a moot point, since I don't wring my hands; I ride steel.

shaun3000

The tail failed because it was stressed beyond its design limits. It was a combination of poor design and poor training. (Briefly: Pilots are taught that below a certain speed (maneuvering speed) you can basically do anything to the airplane without worrying about breaking it. Airbus designed the rudder to withstand a full deflection in one direction and recenter, not full one way and then full the other, which is not what pilots were taught)

spinerguy

All I know it that I can cut my Cf steerer with a electric hand held small tooth saw (the kind you'd use on thin plywood) and cuts trough like butter.
If you try to cut an alu (let alone steel) you would just get a strong kick back every time the blade kiss the tube.

It used to mean that a *stronger* material was also harder but apparently (and surprisingly) can also be softer *at the same time*.

For the record I am not a CF hater, own a CF bike, a Litespeed Ti and a high end alu but I'm really taking all these *20x stronger than steel* BS with a grain of salt.

swifty

Sorry, not true. For outside shooting 3d, FITA, hunting) carbon is the standard, but for indoor spots (e.g. Vegas, 18m, 25m) aluminum is the choice of the competitive archer to gain maximum diameter for line cutting ability and maximum arrow weight for added inertia. Different material choices for different applications.

Yes, I'm an archer too

Grumpy McTrumpy

my frame material's dad can beat up your frame material's dad

patentcad

I tried getting through this rant, but I went into a major Fred Seizure. That's where you walk zombie-like over to your road bike with your bike shoes on, clip into the pedals, and keel over in your garage.

Banzai

I addressed that at length back on page 2 of this thread. If you read it, your grain of salt is right there.

merckx_rider

just saw how they make the madone on one of those how they do it shows on discovery channel....
bake at 190 degrees F... I guess you might not want to leave it in the sun for too long or it'll melt LOL

SpongeDad

I guess the lesson is, don't race what you can't live with crashing.

swalburn

I'll chime in. I have Ti Lynskey level 3 frame that is outstanding. It is the best frame I've ever ridden. It is light enough, stiff enough and durable. I long to have a carbon frame and am constantly looking. I believe carbon offers the most pure performance. At certain weights it is the stiffer than all other materials. The flip side is that I race and have had two huge crashes in the last year. I have two big scratches in my top tube. The bike is fine, and I continue to ride it. My LBS has been trying to get me on a Trek madone for a while, but acknowledged that I would be on my 3rd frame if I had those crashes on carbon. I'm still thinking about get a carbon frame to race but keeping the Ti one as well. I don't think there is a perfect frame material. I think Ti is probably the best of all worlds.

bigtea

I don't think CF is the Ultimate Indestructible Material, I think it is the ultimate disposable material.

The crashes in the pro peloton are mopped up by mechanics in cars with spare bikes on the roof. And the bikes are ridden by people who are paid to do so.

hammond9705

I hate that site. Every time I look at it it reminds me of something else that might happen

Brian Ratliff

incorrect. The epoxy is cross linked. It doesn't melt. It'll degrade as you get it hotter, meaning if you sit it out at 190F for a while, it'll get dry and start cracking, and if you get it very hot, it'll burn, but it won't melt.

gsteinb

What do you suppose would have happened if it were aluminum? Any frame gets damaged in that situation.

pedalhard

I have said it once and now I will say it again what does what the pro use or do have to do with the sort of riding or training that 90% of people on this form do. The pro's ride what they are payed to ride so bike companies can sell us bikes and then afford to pay the pro's to ride them. Most pro's I have met really are not that intrested in the whole which bike I ride thing it's what's free or to start what they can afford until they get a sponsor.

Rustyoldbikes

Pros ride carbon because they get their bikes for free. If bikes were free, even first graders would be riding on carbon bikes. Saying "pros do it, so it must be the best" translates into EPO being "healthy" and cocaine being "fun" (according to Boonen).

Most BMX riders do NOT get "free" bikes...even some well know BMX riders must pay for their bikes out of their own pocket...and the guys paying out of their own pocket often select a bike with a steel fork and a steel frame. But, if carbon BMX bikes were "free", of course, everyone would be riding one.

logdrum

How much goes into the cost of manufacturing carbon bikes or rather the carbon tubes?

Flash

Which companies have the best crash replacement policies for CF frames

Campag4life

I don't get all the bluster about CF. When I'm not riding my bike, I use mine as a hammer. I can drive some pretty big nails with it. I also run over it with the car now and then and no issues at all. I don't think all CF is created equal however. Trek I understand is in the middle of the gene pool for impact resistance. Sadly I hear that Cervelos crack if you look at them funny unless you use the cables to wire them together.

Campag4life

Very little. A little known fact is...most of the profit in CF is eroded by charitable contributions.

c0urt

thanks, thats what i wanted to know