Carbon, got nagging doubts, should I have?

[Salty seadog]

hey 400bph, you're right my mind is made up and always has been really, to buy it. It doesnt stop the doubts though.

I have a friend who describes me as both sides of the coin and a contradiction....

 

[400bhp]

Nah, looks brittle.

 

[Salty seadog]

now now....

thats cruel

 

[fossyant]

Just buy it.

You can break any frame. Have you seen the video of someone taking a hammer to an old Cannondale frame. It took massive abuse before breaking.

 

[TheDoctor]

You are worrying over nothing. Carbon is way stronger then you can imagine.
Think pro-peleton bikes and to a higher extreme F1 cars and airliners.

Correction- Aluminum

Corrected correction - carbon.
The Dreamliner is 50% carbon, the upcoming A350 is 53%. Various aircraft parts have been made from carbon for years. CFRP outperforms anything for strength:weight, and is nowhere near as brittle as some would have you think. It won't fatigue, which isn't something you can say about aluminium. Nor will it corrode.

 

[SteCenturion]

This is the girl and I hope you can see why I want her...

No Salty.

Can't see a thing.

Looks like you spent £1500 on a ...


Chain ??

 

[derrick]

Just don't get t boned.

 

[SteCenturion]

Just ordered a bike made from...



Butter.

Sales rep told me if I crash it - it is fully remould-able.

Offers a very smooth ride too.

 

[Salty seadog]

Yeah but its a top of the range chain though...

 

[Joshua Plumtree]

Tried hitting a carbon fibre spacer with a hammer (as you do); after 11 quite hard taps the spacer seemed to suffer no damage and appeared as sound as ever. Terrific, I thought, just what I was hoping for; however, the 12th tap saw the spacer crumple flat like a piece of paper mache!
Now, I'm no structural engineer (as you can probably tell!), but I found this slightly worrying. How many small hits can my carbon fibre road bike absorp without any apparent damage before it suddenly collapses underneath me when I ride over a discarded Macdonalds wrapper?
Probably worrying unnecessarily, but it wouldn't seem a normal day if I didn't have something to worry about!

 

[mickle]

Carbon fibre frames are great for competitive cyclists, but let's not pretend that the processes used to make carbon fibre bicycles is comparable to those used to manufacture airliners or F1 cars. The raw material might be the same, but that's about it. F1 components are used for a very limited number of races, airline parts are subject to unfeasible levels of scrutiny during manufacture and throughout their working life.

What is the advantage to a non competitive cyclist of a carbon frame? Weight? Take crap before you leave the house. More comfort? Let a couple of PSi out of your tyres. Better 'damping' (whatever that is)? My arse. Buy carbon if you want something blingy, exotic and flash. Those are perfectly good reasons - but buying a carbon framed 'hybrid' for it's performance characteristics is in the same league as fitting a rear spoiler on a Vauxhall Vectra.

Hardly anyone has owned a carbon framed bicycle for more than ten years. I've seen lots of knackered Specialized Epics and Giants from the days when the lugs would fail.

And also - crash damage aside - what is the frame warranty on Whyte carbon bikes? If it's not 'lifetime' ask yourself why.

 

[Rob3rt]

Got to love a bit of carbon fever!

 

[Hacienda71]

Tried hitting a carbon fibre spacer with a hammer (as you do); after 11 quite hard taps the spacer seemed to suffer no damage and appeared as sound as ever. Terrific, I thought, just what I was hoping for; however, the 12th tap saw the spacer crumple flat like a piece of paper mache!
Now, I'm no structural engineer (as you can probably tell!), but I found this slightly worrying. How many small hits can my carbon fibre road bike absorp without any apparent damage before it suddenly collapses underneath me when I ride over a discarded Macdonalds wrapper?
Probably worrying unnecessarily, but it wouldn't seem a normal day if I didn't have something to worry about!

Have you tried hitting an alloy spacer with a hammer twelve times?

 

[fossyant]

Got to love a bit of carbon fever!

This fangled fancy stuff will never take off.

 

[Joshua Plumtree]

Have you tried hitting an alloy spacer with a hammer twelve times?

No!