Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

[Drago]

Is it a hi-vis carbon frame?

 

[vickster]

OP wishes he never asked! Bunch of nutters the CC lot.

He’s not new to the forum, so I’m sure he already knew this and took the risk posting regardless

 

[mustang1]

I have a carbon road bike which I've taken off road, left out in the rain, used on potholed roads, bunny hopped off kerbs, bunny hopped on to kerbs, attempted wheelies (unsuccessfully), dropped a few times. The only thing I don't do is lean on the top tube. I would actually treat this bike "worse" than I would a BSO which may buckle with the things I might do with it.

 

[mustang1]

No frame material is more durable than steel. It can ding, scratch, dent, even bend, and retain structural integrity. When well made and cared for, steel will last a lifetime.

The same isn't true for aluminum. Aluminum is more brittle, so it's more susceptible to failure through fatigue or damage. A single dent in the wrong place could render an aluminum frame unsafe to ride. And when aluminum fails, it fails catastrophically.

Think about it like this: glass will break before it bends. The same is true in many respects of aluminum. Steel on the other hand, will bend before it breaks, resulting in a far more resilient frame.

If OP wants a bike for life, he bought the wrong material, carbon suffers much the same issues as aluminium.

You are right that aluminium fatigues, but al bike frames are built such that the fatigue limit is incredibly high so it's a moot point. Thinking about glass, I recall jumping up and down on the glass panel of the CN Tower; same principle.

And yes, steel can be dented and still work okay (but not perfectly) but carbon takes a lot more force to "dent" (but when it does, it you are right that it does so catastrophically).

Edit: having read a few other posts, I am reminded of the time when my aluminium bars fatigued and cracked. BUT I was given plenty of warning over a couple of weeks when I noticed the handlebars flexing .I should have got the bars changed straight away but instead I was in awe of my strength thinking I have really progressed to the poopo where I can now flex the bars.

 

[mustang1]

Unless they rust.

Looked after of course, they won't. But then looked after equally well both aluminium and carbon frames will last a lifetime too.

Steel rusts and then gets destroyed. Looked after, that will not happen.
Aluminum and carbon do not need to be looked after (sure, al "bleeds" but no big deal).

 

[I like Skol]

You are right that aluminium fatigues, but al bike frames are built such that the fatigue limit is incredibly high so it's a moot point.

If only that were true.

Discovered this morning on my Ali commuter!

This is the 3rd Ali frame I have had fail through fatigue in my cycling career. I think I am going to avoid aluminium in future.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I discovered a crack on the head tube of my beloved Scott,after it'd done about 20,000 miles over around 14 years. Sadly it had to be binned. Then one day i pulled the handlebars of my Carrera up to mount a slight kerb and the alloy ripped like a pull open food can does when you open it,nearly causing me to wobble and fall. I've only had carbon for 2 years so i can't say much about it. Although i propped my carbon bike up against a park bench o Tuesday and it blew over due to a strong gust of wind. I always pick that bike up expecting the worse as some experienced touring cyclist told me once that he dropped a carbon framed bike against a vacuum cleaner (accidentally,not on purpose i presume) and on picking it up he saw it'd cracked.