Ijustwanttoride

I did a forum search and found nothing on "carbon frame". I hope this isn't too repetitive of a question.

What are the disadvantages of full-carbon frames?

55/Rad

-Some of them are quite expensive.
-If you buy one, you may fall into the trap of buying other carbon based components.
-They come in many colors, apparently causing some to go crazy trying to make a choice.
-They don't necessarily make you ride faster, but you may feel like you are.
-They sometimes cause an unwanted sense of euphoria.

55/Rad

bsyptak

You didn't search properly. There are scads, heaps, piles of threads on the subject.

TexasGuy

Don't get a carbon to go fast.

woodboy

Advantages:
-You'll get a better job
-Women will flock to you
-It will improve your tennis game
-Longer lasting erections (over 4 hours, consult your physician)

MichaelW

They act as a carbon sink, reducing the effect of global warming.

bobfe

Manufacturers like them because it's easy to make tons of them using the carbon copy process

jplavnick

There are no disadvantages to carbon fiber frames. It is the only material on the planet capable of making a perfect bicycle (come on Ti and Steel guys, take the bait).

sydney

Catastrophically exploding CF is being considered as a WMD by the Bush administration.

dspyder

Seriously:

1. Cost
2. Concerns with lifetime of material (long-term disintegration)
3. Cheap/lazy construction methods can result in worse problems than a cheap metal frame
4. Harder/impossible to repair in the event of breakage or damage

That being said, I think most agree that Carbon Fiber is an impressive material that certainly has its uses and benefits. I believe most agree that the full potential of carbon frames has not been explored yet, especially at the consumer level.

--Darren

DigitalRJH

All depends on the quality of the frame. A well built aluminum frame will outperform a poorly built carbon frame. Also, some people don't like the feel of carbon, a great benefit of carbon is it dampens vibrations,but the flipside to that is to some it imparts a "wooden" feel, or lack of liveliness on the road.

However; overall the advantages of a well built carbon frame outweigh just about any other frame material.

zonatandem

We love our ariZona carbon fiber tandem so much that we had the builder build me a custom single . . .
Why would carbon be less easy to repair than metal? A good c/f builder is the answer.
Have over 8,000+ miles on our c/f tandem . . . love it!
Rudy/zonatandem

caloso

You can't attach magnets to it. And you may not have enough metal to trip the stoplight sensors.

Other than that, you'll just attract flak from the Steelheads.

jbonus

I have a carbon frameset (Giant TCR C1). The only disadavantage to it that I can find is that it has sort of a "seashell to your ear" sound when riding. I don't really mind it as it's not that loud. It's noticeable more during freewheeling at lower speeds (mid-teens) when the wind isn't whipping over my ears.

djcolorado

I have a '05 Felt 60 with carbon fiber forks, seat stays, seat post and aluminum frame, and think this combination really has the best of both worlds regarding frame responsiveness, vibration dampening, and cost. In fairness to carbon, I have only demo'd a couple bikes and not logged lots of miles on one. That demo experience compared to demo'ing the Felt lead to my choice because I couldn't feel any advantage to full carbon over this combination. After the first couple hundred miles, I haven't been disappointed with the choice.

borg

I actually couldn't think of any until someone else mentioned it...but you do lose some road feel in my opinion with carbon over other materials. I went from an aluminum (old Felt F1) to a Carbon bike(Kestrel Evoke) and I do "feel" the aluminum sprints and climbs better. It took riding the Carbon exclusively for a while and then going back to riding the aluminum to quantify the differences. It feels more lively and seems to spring back and provide energy.

DocRay

Who uses only one bike frame material anymore?
"Feel" can be changed with a different fork material.

I considered full carbon Cervelo and carbon fork/aluminum- CF/Ally felt better, no worries about CF frame. Weight was identical at half the cost.