Will carbon be too light?

[Accy cyclist]

I'm toying with the idea of buying a carbon framed road bike. I want to spend around £1500,but this one http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/road-track-bike/ribble-new-sportive-racing?part=BB13RIBNEWSPORTIVE&sub=conf_BBRC&bike=at under a grand looks appealing(any thoughts?)! The reason i ask about the weight is because i was hit by a cross wind tonight while travelling downhill at 38 mph, it made me seriously wobble on my old aluminium frame so i was wondering if i'd have been on a lighter carbon bike would i have been blown off the bike? I'm 11 stone and 6ft if it's any help.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

It's a possibility to be blown of a bike, unlikely to happen but a possibility.. I run a light areo bike with deep rim carbon wheels and it really suffers in cross winds, the wheels particularly catch crosswinds but you learn the characteristics of the bike and learn to deal with it.
The weight quoted on the Ribble website is also wrong, its not 1050grams (1.05kg) the bike is generally around 7.5kg which to be honest is pretty average this days weight wise.

 

[youngoldbloke]

The weight quoted on the Ribble website is also wrong, its not 1050grams (1.05kg) the bike is generally around 7.5kg which to be honest is pretty average this days weight wise.

Isn't that the frame weight?

 

[mattobrien]

I expect that the bike is never likely to make up much more than 10-15% of the total weight of bike and rider, so I can't really see a very light bike resulting in being blown away. The rider weight may be more critical in this equation. Then you have to add in wind and surface area.

Needless to say I haven't worried about being blow away just yet, but that may say more about my weight than the bikes :-)

 

[Globalti]

The torsional stiffness of the frame combined with the comfort will more than compensate for any moments of instability in cross winds. You just need to be aware when riding in the wind that gusts can hit you when passing field gates and buildings.

 

[Rob3rt]

A light bike will not really get blown about in the wind much more than your current bike, think about it, the weight difference (all in) is probably going to be a relatively small one, whereas a bike with aero tube shapes and deep rims might be more of a handful as the side profile will be substantially greater. Even in the latter case, other than extreme conditions, it is not much to be concerned with.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I've been blown across the road when I've owned carbon bikes, both road and MTB's.

I've also been blown across the road on steel and alu bikes as well, and I'm a hefferlump, go figure.

If the wind is blowing you should naturally take care regardless of frame material.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Isn't that the frame weight?

I would assume so but ribble do not state so, as such I do not assume this is what they mean

 

[youngoldbloke]

I would assume so but ribble do not state so, as such I do not assume this is what they mean

Well - agreed they don't exactly spell it out, but it is in the section of the description describing the frame, so I do assume so. See also frame details. I don't think anyone has produced a 1,050 gm complete bike as yet, whereas 1050 gms is very likely for a carbon frame.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Two questions. How much approximately would the complete bike weigh?, and is the frame sale price included for/in the complete bike or just if you buy the frame on its own?

 

[youngoldbloke]

Two questions. How much approximately would the complete bike weigh?, and is the frame sale price included for/in the complete bike or just if you buy the frame on its own?

As Mr Haemocrit said probably around 7.5 - 8 kg - depends on the frame size and the components you specify. The Bikebuilder price includes the cost of the frame.

 

[HLaB]

In answer to th OQ, never been a problem for me on my Carbon bike or the 1000s of other riders with carbon bikes; otherwise nobody would buy them

 

[Sittingduck]

The bike being lighter by perhaps 500g or maybe even 1kg is not going to cause you to get blown into a hedge, no.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

If switching from aluminium to carbon is going to take, say 3kg off the overall weight, would losing an equvalent 3kg of body weight make the bike unstable? Not really a scientific analysis, because there will be a different centre of gravity amongst other things, which I haven't bothered warming up my brain for, but it might put the weight loss in perspective. Deep rims would probably make the biggest difference in crosswinds but that'd be pretty much the same on any bike.

 

[TheJDog]

I noticed a far bigger difference with 40mm cross section wheels (compared to 25mm) in crosswinds on an aluminium bike than I have ever noticed going from a 14kg bike to an 8kg bike.