Carbon fiber bikes?
06-22-10, 08:49 PM
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Carbon fiber bikes?
Are carbon fiber bikes as strong as metal bikes? do they last as long? or longer.. because metal rust... what you guys think of the Ridley X-Night? https://www.excelcycle.com/ridley-x-n...ike-frame.html
I am starting to learn how to use carbon fiber so i can make body panels for my car... are these bikes easy to fix if they break or crack? How do they build these bikes? any videos of this?
I am starting to learn how to use carbon fiber so i can make body panels for my car... are these bikes easy to fix if they break or crack? How do they build these bikes? any videos of this?
06-22-10, 11:25 PM
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I've heard they deteriorate over time. yes metal bikes do rust, but it will take the course over several several years if you take care of your bike.
If a bike cracks or breaks, if its not steel its probably ruined.
If a bike cracks or breaks, if its not steel its probably ruined.
06-23-10, 12:16 AM
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But, does it fly?
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06-23-10, 03:32 AM
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06-23-10, 06:31 AM
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06-23-10, 10:21 AM
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06-23-10, 12:38 PM
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Undamaged carbon bikes can be just as strong as metal bikes. Damage them in a crash or some other impact and their strength suffers greatly. Store them clean, dry, and inside, and make sure the paint or finish is undamaged, and a carbon bike will last a really long time.
If you damage part of it, there are people who can repair it like Calfree Design. If you have the stuff for working with carbon fiber, you could probably repair it by sanding away the damage and laying fresh carbon fiber onto it, but I'm not sure about the specifics. Large manufacturers make frames using molds to make individual parts and then gluing them together. If you were wanting to make a carbon bike, wrapping the fiber around a Styrofoam core would work. See: https://www.bmeres.com/carbonframe1.htm and https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/carbon_fiber.htm
If you damage part of it, there are people who can repair it like Calfree Design. If you have the stuff for working with carbon fiber, you could probably repair it by sanding away the damage and laying fresh carbon fiber onto it, but I'm not sure about the specifics. Large manufacturers make frames using molds to make individual parts and then gluing them together. If you were wanting to make a carbon bike, wrapping the fiber around a Styrofoam core would work. See: https://www.bmeres.com/carbonframe1.htm and https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/carbon_fiber.htm
06-23-10, 01:43 PM
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Are carbon fiber bikes as strong as metal bikes? do they last as long? or longer.. because metal rust... what you guys think of the Ridley X-Night? https://www.excelcycle.com/ridley-x-n...ike-frame.html
I am starting to learn how to use carbon fiber so i can make body panels for my car... are these bikes easy to fix if they break or crack? How do they build these bikes? any videos of this?
I am starting to learn how to use carbon fiber so i can make body panels for my car... are these bikes easy to fix if they break or crack? How do they build these bikes? any videos of this?
They are as strong but not as durable and cannot be inspected easily post damage.
Aircraft are not a good analogy because we in aviation have been trained in the repair and inspection of cf airframes using sophisticated instruments and strategies as well as the quarter test. As well, the repair and inspection schemes are documented and "approved" for use.
CF bikes will not last as long, the materiel degrades with time as the resins are damaged by temperatures and UV and simply cannot be inspected easily as currently employed in bike building.
CF is a wonderful material for bicycles, no doubt, but it has fundamental weaknesses also that cannot be ignored and all of the threads about "is this funny looking crack/blister/dent/chip/ scratch in my cf frame OK" are proof. The answer to the question most of the time BTW is no, it is not OK because you cannot prove otherwise given no documented repair/inspection process.
06-23-10, 03:57 PM
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lowlux,
There is a fundamental inconsistency in Carbon Fiber Bicycle design. The Carbon Fiber Bicycles available today are built to the same design as if the material used in the bike construction were Steel or Aluminum. Granted, there are some Carbon Fiber Bicycles (high end, price-wise) that are called "Monocoque".
Carbon Fiber is, in reality, a "Composite" material, much similar to Glass Fiber, "Fiberglass", or GFRP, as it's designated in blueprints.
I have done a lot of work with a Fiberglass Bicycle design, and there aren't any other builders who have attempted a Fiberglass Bike build, that I know of, except for the Bowden Spacelander, of which 522 were built in the early 1960's.
I do in fact have some YouTube video of a Fiberglass Bicycle under construction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjyS_lXE6F0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0akAccfjv4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NstkhkW5paM
Here is the finished product, I couldn't afford to have Lance Armstrong ride it in my video, so it's being ridden by the kids next door:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaVxNntUSnU
What I am trying to tell you is: Build a Better GLASS Fiber Bicycle, maybe go though three or four Re-Designs, and when you have PERFECTED a GLASS Fiber Bike Design, Then proceed to build a Carbon Fiber Bike, using the SAME Design as the Glass Fiber Bike, Indeed, using the same Molds.
Sorry if I had to shout, but I've been saying this for a long time, and I'm not sure if anyone's getting the message.
There is a fundamental inconsistency in Carbon Fiber Bicycle design. The Carbon Fiber Bicycles available today are built to the same design as if the material used in the bike construction were Steel or Aluminum. Granted, there are some Carbon Fiber Bicycles (high end, price-wise) that are called "Monocoque".
Carbon Fiber is, in reality, a "Composite" material, much similar to Glass Fiber, "Fiberglass", or GFRP, as it's designated in blueprints.
I have done a lot of work with a Fiberglass Bicycle design, and there aren't any other builders who have attempted a Fiberglass Bike build, that I know of, except for the Bowden Spacelander, of which 522 were built in the early 1960's.
I do in fact have some YouTube video of a Fiberglass Bicycle under construction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjyS_lXE6F0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0akAccfjv4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NstkhkW5paM
Here is the finished product, I couldn't afford to have Lance Armstrong ride it in my video, so it's being ridden by the kids next door:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaVxNntUSnU
What I am trying to tell you is: Build a Better GLASS Fiber Bicycle, maybe go though three or four Re-Designs, and when you have PERFECTED a GLASS Fiber Bike Design, Then proceed to build a Carbon Fiber Bike, using the SAME Design as the Glass Fiber Bike, Indeed, using the same Molds.
Sorry if I had to shout, but I've been saying this for a long time, and I'm not sure if anyone's getting the message.
06-24-10, 12:02 AM
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Are carbon fiber bikes as strong as metal bikes? do they last as long? or longer.. because metal rust... what you guys think of the Ridley X-Night? https://www.excelcycle.com/ridley-x-n...ike-frame.html
I am starting to learn how to use carbon fiber so i can make body panels for my car... are these bikes easy to fix if they break or crack? How do they build these bikes? any videos of this?
I am starting to learn how to use carbon fiber so i can make body panels for my car... are these bikes easy to fix if they break or crack? How do they build these bikes? any videos of this?
06-24-10, 12:23 AM
#12
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Comparing a carbon fiber bicycle to a Boeing passenger jet is a bit like comparing a steel framed bicycle to a diesel-electric locomotive.
Sure, there both made of the same material but that's about the only similarity.
Sure, there both made of the same material but that's about the only similarity.
06-28-10, 08:49 PM
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If you are thinking about racing CF is the material of choice. It can be a bit like the difference between a F-1 race car and a family station wagon. But if you need a station wagon an F-1 simply isn't the best choice. However I believe most manufacturers will replace a cracked frame on a new CF bike for at least five years. Giant has a lifetime warrentee on their CF bike frames I believe.
Last edited by tonski; 07-01-10 at 09:08 PM.
06-29-10, 06:41 AM
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I've never had a carbon bike, but I shoot a compound bow extensively and I use carbon arrows that fly through the air at 325 fps and I can say the carbon arrows are tough as nails, the only way to destroy one is to hit a big rock head on, given that I'd say a bike with a carbon frame is probably tough as hell.
Paul
Paul
