brundle_fly

I've always had Alloy bikes in the past,but have recently been looking to change my scott alloy for a carbon cr1 frame,and as it happens I've spotted a nice one.
My question is - are their any issues regarding tightening the seat post clamp or any other components,because I did have a carbon post on my alloy bike and it got wrecked by the seat post clamp which has put me off getting one ever since.Also,I have read they can crack in half when crashed

Thanks

rebel1916

You risk immediate asplodshun.

MegaTom

According to Motobecane's warranty, carbon frames are only good for one year before they're prone to exploding.

WhyFi

Don't be so ham-fisted.

Don't crash.

valygrl

Parts like seat post clamps and stem faceplate bolts have torque settings. Buy a torque wrench, don't overtighten.

Anything can break when crashed.

Love my CR1 SL, by the way.

soonerrebel

Get the carbon frame then get a torque key. No worries butt remember when carbon DOES break (it wont BEND OR DENT) is does so catastrophically.

eippo1

pallen

alloy frames can break in a crash too
even American made alloy frames

lopek77

Carbon parts ( including the bike frame ) are VERY FRAGILE...
They are very expensive and very easy to damage... I saw many handlebars crushed by just installing it on the bike with wrong torque, seat tubes crushed by seat post clamps, cracked chain stains from first chain sucks and a lot of broken frames and forks after most crashes...

Pretty pointless idea... The only plus I see is that you can carry it for many miles when walking back home after it cracked in half ;-)

Please don't say "buy a torque wrench", unless every carbon bike owner must be also a bike mechanic...

cuda2k

Pay attention to torque specs (which are often MAX spec, you don't necessarily need to go all the way to max) when you're building it, don't crash it, don't lay it against something that might rub badly during transit (ie: sharp edge of something else in the car / back of truck / etc).

Side story - I had to SAG a ride a few years back with my very new to me Fuji Team Issue. Only SAG truck leaving the rest stop I'd hobbled into after both IT bands completely seizing up on me was an old pickup truck - with a transmission case in the back which was perched fairly precariously on top of all sorts of other odds and ends in the back of the truck. My carbon Fuji was put in the back of the bed, and I prayed the entire drive back into town over bumpy country roads that the transmission stayed put. It did, partially thanks to the careful driving after the woman driving inquired how much the bike was worth. I have a truck bed rack for my bikes. Two bikes go in the back, nothing touches paint, nothing hanging out the back for someone to run into.

LowCel 

All of the broken frames I have seen personally (except for one that hit a deer and one that hit a garage) have just cracked and allowed the person to finish riding. Most of the broken (cracked) frames that I have seen have been discovered during an inspection or during a bike wash.

eippo1

What? The rule of thumb with carbon is don't be an idiot and you'll be fine. Carbon is stronger than anything else, it just doesn't like to be crushed. FYI, neither does aluminum. A friend has crashed his 2008 Tarmac close to 10 times in crits and put many thousands of miles on it and it's still doin' just fine. His aluminum cross bike made it through one season before cracking at the bottom bracket. Anecdotal, yes, but that's all your gonna get from this forum anyway.

LowCel 

Does a bike owner have to be a mechanic to adjust their saddle height or do you think they should take it to a shop to have it done?

WhyFi

jwible

Srsly?

I haven't seen plenty of carbon frames literally bounce back after a crash and continue to race. I've never seen a stranded rider covered in shards of spontaneously exploded carbon. Anything an alloy frame can take a carbon frame can take. As for bars and seatposts, I'm sure they same people that are crushing their carbon parts are doing alloy parts no favors.

SlimRider

Hey there Brundle_Fly,

Purchasing any decent road bike these days, should be considered as a major investment. Most race-ready carbon fiber road bikes are very expensive. If you plan on ever joining a road bike club, or perhaps participating in races, then a carbon fiber road bike just might be exactly what you'll need to suit your purposes. That's only due to the fact that carbon fiber bikes are light in mass, and tend to be more easily accelerated. Carbon fiber framed bikes when constructed properly are very strong and durable. As a matter of fact, some have been tested and found to be stronger than steel with an even longer fatigue life.

The only problem that I can see with carbon fiber, is that it tends to be stronger and more impact-resistant in some areas, more so than others. You might race your carbon framed road bike all day over questionable terrain, and the next day do a club century. However after the century, you return home, set your bike against a fence, the wind blows it down, and you find that your bike now has a crack in the top tube. To this extent, I find carbon fiber bikes kinda quirky. OTOH, there are several MTB companies who are making DH racing MTN bikes. For a carbon fiber MTB to be accelerating over roots, rocks, and crevices in a DH racing situation, leaves little room for quirky tendencies.

That said, I still feel that there are essentially three pet peeves about carbon fiber. They are as follows:
1) Questionable Impact-resistance
2) Loss of frame integrity due to scratches, gouges, or abrasions
3) Damage to CF frames, due to extended exposure to uv radiation ( direct sunlight)

IMHO, if you're NOT going to join a road bike club and particpate in road races, then an aluminum, chromoly steel, or titanium road bike, might perhaps render you longer and less worrisome service.

Of course, if money is no option, then it doesn't matter anyway. You can just as easily replace or repair your carbon fiber road bike, as often as needed. IMO a carbon fiber road bike, might last you twenty years or twenty weeks. Neither period of service time should surprise you.

- Slim

pbd

Aluminum always has a finite fatigue life, while carbon fiber composites have an infinite fatigue life within design specifications, so I'm not sure how anyone can honestly say that an aluminum frame will last longer than a carbon frame.

Carbon is strong, don't worry so much about it. Just treat it with the proper respect, the same respect than any expensive item deserves. Use torque wrenches, don't lean it up against things that will damage it (which I wouldn't do with a nice bike no matter what it's made out of anyway), and it'll be fine. If you crash, check it over thoroughly, but it will probably be fine.

Carbon frames can also be repaired quite easily by several highly-qualified businesses even in cases of failure, so it's not like it's one crack and you're done.

hueyhoolihan

CF feels like a pinata without the candy inside. srsly. but it hasn't broken yet... on, and it's very very light and very stiff too.

edit: and it amplifies every little noise like a vintage martin guitar.

pablosnazzy

Get the carbon frame, you will be quite happy with it, it is worth every penny to have a carbon road bike. the ride is excellent, and as long as you're not throwing your bike down like a gorilla and treating it like crap, it's not going to just break on you. have you ever watched the tour de france? they have huge wrecks, and when they can, they get up and finish the stage on their carbon bikes that didn't break after a crash.

i have seen carbon mountain bikes come back from a ride, and we found a crack in it. and this is a bike that is taking way more abuse than a road bike.

DropDeadFred

they explode...all of them...mine is going to explode soon..

DropDeadFred

don't hate cuz you can't afford

Inertianinja

carbon is very strong. if it can handle Roubaix, it can handle whatever you throw at it. but just like alloy, you can break it.
follow torque specs. don't crash.

Into_the_wind

Yes and don't fall into the marketing trap that "Carbon Frames can be easily repaired". I do not reccomend repairing carbon frames if you wish to not compromise the strength of your frame. Gluing on new fibres across broken ones does not 'fix' the frame completely as it presents a weak point where the fibres are not connected. It is much the same as patching a piece of clothing...

pbd

And the source of your authority?

Thousands of people have had their carbon bikes repaired by places like Calfee, and knowledgeable people like Zinn recommend it as well. https://velonews.competitor.com/2010/...n-frame_105242

eippo1

That's why no companies that actually fix carbon fiber don't do it that way. And actually no it's not like a piece of clothing.