Mayonnaise

Last summer, just before I went down hard on a training ride and effectively being off the bike for months, I was on the bell lap of a local crit when someone hit my rear derailleur with their front wheel sending it into my rear wheel, spinning it around and slamming into my rear triangle, breaking the frame.

Of all the bikes I've had/have, that Storck was my favorite. I love the way it rode, I love the way it looked. Immediately I started making the moves to get a replacement.

Then I crashed and slowly recovered. By the time I was ready to ride again, I found my mind had shifted. I'd had plenty of talks with 2 of my bike gurus, lifelong racers that aren't young anymore and have seen it all.

All these damn magazines and fancy websites sell you these sexy carbon frames. You line up at races and always someone's got something new and fantastic and you want it so bad that you wouldn't be satisfied with anything else.

You gonna race your campy equipped Storck with Zip wheels in some business park for pizza money? It doesn't make any sense. But people do it all the time.

I did it all the time. The Storck was the second carbon bike that was broken during a race (both times some idiot did something stupid).

My basement has a carbon fiber graveyard; stuff I just can't bear throwing in the garbage even though it's worthless.

When I get cynical I think the bicycle industry sits around and laughs at us for spending $8K on a new bike that is damn near meant to be disposable. You old farts will remember when you bought a campy gruppo in the 70s you had it for life.

Seems to me now that your best race bike should only be ridden on Sunday morning club rides not at the local races. A decent aluminum frame for racing makes more sense. (don't bring up those no-brand mail order bikes from China or wherever, I don't trust em)

Every carbon bike I've ever owned has broken. Every other bike I've raced on is still in perfectly good working order (couple of dings here and there) and waiting for me in the basement now.

I fully intend to race this Spring and I need a new frame but I'm tired of being a Carbon Chump. Sooner or later something's going to break in a way that wouldn't have happened before, with replacement costs that have skyrocketed.

You gotta have a stiff carbon aero bike? Why not just sit on someone's wheel instead. You'll find it more beneficial and certainly cheaper.

I'm gonna devour the advertisements just like I have for nearly 40 years, but I'm far more skeptical.

Homebrew01

So, you've smartened up that an $8k bike does not make you a winner . I'm very happy with my $1200 Cannondale that I built up from a used frame, some slightly NOS parts, and budget 50mm carbon tubulars. It's not the reason I didn't win & got 2nd in some races last year.

Ride-Fly

I'd find a Litespeed vortex or ultimate and race that. In fact that's what I might try to do this summer. I don't want to race my carbon or S&S Ti bikes. And I didn't bring my two aluminum bikes with me to Germany.

LowCel 

No way I would race my best bike in a crit. In a road race, no problem.

youcoming

You know carbon frames can be repaired.

svtmike

OP, have you even looked at getting the broken frames repaired?

YOJiMBO20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHVjs4aobqs

ultraman6970

No idea how old are you but is cool you figure it out. If you are your own sponsor then you can't risk spending a lot of dough just for bling bling, no idea how good are you or in what category are you racing but pretty much if the rider is good can win races all the way to cat 2 with a simple steel bike and not much bling bling. If you are already in your mid 20's, going to school and stuck in cat 3 then pretty much is already too late to make a life out of racing so just finish school and be a happy sunday rider with the most expensive stuff you could find, after all is for showing off hehe

At the end, is your call but eventhought have good components is good and somehow help to win 1 second in 100 miles in a race or to save the stupidly big amount of 1 watt of energy for 200 miles of race, at the end it is the racer not the bike. Is at simple as that, happy you saw the light man.

Ps; for got to add... depeding on how many broken stuff you have you always can fix them, if you want to give me (asking straight forward) one of those broken carbon frames i would be happy to take one, send it to get it fix and ride it maybe forever

eriku16

There's no way I would want to race on a repaired carbon frame!

ultraman6970

Well if your team is giving you the bike, sure you wont... but if you have accidents each f.. week (seen those guys) there is no way your pockets will be able to stand getting new frames each 2 weeks, even if you get them to a special price from the sponsor. And when you question yourself.. or to race in a old busted steel bike and a carbon one... sure the carbon repaired one will win just because you dont want to give advantage to the other guys.

Nothing wrong with repaired carbon, never seen a repaired carbon frrame to crack or break in the same place twice, next accident will crack somewhere else for sure.

Mayonnaise

Oh, I've been down the repair road. It's not worth it. I sent in the Storck (the shipping was pricey). They called and said it couldn't be repaired. I could pay to have them give me an estimate or let them keep the frame. They kept the frame to butcher in case another Storck came in. I have a Colnago and it was broken in about 4 places. The cost of the repair was about the same as a new frame.

Repairing your carbon frame is not cheap. You've got to be lucky that you've got only one or two breaks and they're in the right spots. Certainly repair is an option but in my cases, it made no sense at all.

MegaTom

The repairs, if done right, are stronger than the thing was originally.

Jed19

Just buy a good aluminum frame and get back to racing.

MegaTom

All of these broken bikes.... I don't think it's the carbon that's your problem.

fa63

If you ride a size 56-ish, I am selling an almost brand new custom aluminum Tsunami cheap ($500) that would love to be raced. Then you won't feel so bad for crashing and thrashing a frame (but hopefully you won't)

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...set-(56cm-ish)

Mayonnaise

Will probably build up a black CAAD 10. Nice and simple

flatlander_48

You need to find a better group of comptitors...

Seattle Forrest

Sounds like the problem is racing, and not bike materials. Or at least racing with people who crash into you.

I have a nice bike. Carbon fiber, even. I stay the hell away from other cyclists with it! You'll find me riding mostly on back roads in the Cascade Range, staying happy and sane.

caloso

This is what I did after breaking my last CF bike.

Mayonnaise

Of course the problem is racing. That's the problem: What to race on. Not including cyclocross, I race 40-50 times a year. Sooner or later, something is going to happen. That's bike racing. I don't crash more or less than anyone else I race with but crashes do happen.

My point is, we've rushed out to buy these great carbon products that are more fragile than we believe. I don't think it makes sense for a weekend enthusiast to race on it.

Imagine you've ridden a friends Di2 and fallen in love (rightly so, it's great). You buy it and take it to a race (I see a ton of guys racing on Di2). The rear derailleur gets sent into your back wheel, spun around and smashed on the frame, broken. $700 please. Your heart just breaks. Cavendish doesn't care, but you and I do.

jrobe

I bet in any given year, there are about 2-3 carbon frames destroyed in the entire Tour de France in 3000 miles with over a hundred riders. It happens but it is rare. I would also guess that 75% of carbon frames that are damaged can be repaired and be as good as new.

I have had one carbon frame crack in 40,000 miles and it cost me $300 to repair. I also dented an aluminum frame that was unrepairable.

Given your history, you probably do need a steel frame but you will be at some competitive disadvantage.

rbart4506

I don't know, I crashed at 40kmh this October on my no name chinese carbon frame. The frame bounced along the road a bit, bent RD hanger and that was about it. The worst damage was to my helmet, my clothing and me.

Your example of a busted RD getting slammed into the chain stay and snapping the stay would demo any aluminum framed bike.

BTW, those no name chinese frames are just fine as long as you know where to buy them from....Buy 2-3 and you are set for the season

rangerdavid

You know what the answer is.







CAAD10

Mayonnaise

2-3 destroyed frames in the Tour? Did you watch the Tour last year? Did you see all the crashes? Like you, I have no idea how many frames were destroyed in the Tour, but it's a lot more than "2-3" You have no idea what percentage of carbon frames can be repaired. I know plenty of racers with carbon graveyards. I have enough experience to know 75% seems very high. You gonna spend $1K to repair it or just buy a new one for $1.6K? Most guys I know buy the new one.

I suspect you have little race experience, your "staying out of trouble" suggests little actual knowledge of bike racing.

rebel1916

It's cool the way yo have decided to stop drinking marketing Kool Aid in favor of retrogrouch Kool Aid.