Strength of Carbon Vs Aluminium for the doubters...
- Thread starter montage
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Sittingduck
Legendary Member
- Location
- Somewhere flat
Nice... but the carbon frame in the first test had 'previous'. Reminds me of one of those champion conkers at school - that seemed indestructable. Had probably been baked in the oven and soaked in vinegar by the guy's Mom, to get special powers.
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Where do I get a guarantee from that every carbon frame is a well made as those from Santa Cruz?
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
There was a fascinating article in Singletrack not that long ago about the head of one of the niche boutique mtb makers who insists on aerospace style six-sigma levels of quality and consistency in his frames and components and as a result won't buy carbon frames in from Taiwan.
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
If it takes that much to go, it doesn't much matter which way the frame goes, you are going to be in tatters either way
Mr Haematocrit
msg me on kik for android
- Location
- Out of the saddle
Same place as you do the guarantee that every steel, alu, to frame is well made and was welded with the correct material based welding rod to ensure it does not feature brittle joints.
Unfortunately it doesn't always take the amount of force shown in the video to break, though. We've all seen the pictures of broken carbon steerers, handle bars, chain stays etc. Nasty stuff, and they haven't taken 1000+ lbs force as shown in this video.
Be that due to bad layup during manufacturing, cheapness, abuse, I don't know, but I believe it's still relevant.
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
That would be the Merida factory then.
black'n'yellow
Guest
of course, before carbon frames came along, no steel, titanium or aluminium frame had ever broken....
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
Under front impact a 531 frame would tend to buckle at the top tube and down tube near the steerer tube. Forks are so strong they are not the first to go. The point is that steel does not completely snap.
I had a 531 bike hit side on by a van. The frame appeared undamaged but what I and the LBS failed to spot was that the down tube had a tiny impact mark and was minutely bent.
The bike was refitted and put back on the road. Over a year later the frame started to creak and was found to have a crack going 2/3 round the down tube beside the band-on gear lever. Being 25 miles from home on the N York moors, I decide to ride it home very carefully and it made the journey without the crack becoming worse.
Eventually the down tube was replaced by a 1st rate builder and I continued to ride the bike* until it was stolen a couple of years later.
*incl a couple of 50+ mph descents
CopperCyclist
Veteran
This isn't something new. Most people know Carbon Fibre bikes are just as strong as Alu bikes, but the concern is that when they fail, it's a catastrophic fail!
(It's not a concern of mine btw)
(It's not a concern of mine btw)
black'n'yellow
Guest
the other point is that the carbon frame in the same situation as the 531 may not have been damaged at all. Steel and alu are both perfectly capable of cracking and/or snapping under the right circumstances. The weak points are usually the joins or the areas around them and a steel/alu frame is usually only as good as the joining process used...
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Not the most scientific test, what with various different carbon and metal construction techniques available. Why don't they repeat the test with a carbon frame subjected to 5 years of vibration and ultra violet, or spend only the value of the alloy frame on building a carbon test frame? It's horses for courses.
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
Yes, I would expect that carbon frames lend themselves far better to mass production than hand built steel and hand built is only as good as the individual who does the work. Nevertheless, steel has a very good performance record not merely for bike frames! Carbon is still innovative.
