waters60

My '92 Merckx Century has given me many thousands of miles of use and apart from parts availability should give me thousands more. As I contemplate a new carbon bike I have some thoughts about guaranteeing my next bike will be able to equal the longevity of my Merckx. I am lusting after a Pinarello Quattro with Ultegra Di2. On the other hand, I know of several people who have had their Trek Madone's replaced under the bombproof lifetime warranty. Carbon has come a long way, but I can't afford to replace bikes too often. Is a good carbon frame likely to give me 20 years ( or till I'm pushing daisies )? I might be willing to sacrifice perceived ride quality for the assurance of a good investment.

Busta Quad

Long-term investment? No.

A warranty is a mechanism for transferring risk. It is not an investment.

jrobe

For what it is worth, carbon frames are pretty easy to repair. I broke a seat stay on my 5 year old beloved Cervelo R3 frame (30,000 miles on it) this spring in a crash. I had it repaired for about $400 and it is now again like new. I think a steel or aluminum frame would have been bent and dented enough from my crash that they would have been trashed.

I wouldn't buy any bike and expect it to last 20 years but of all the frame materials, carbon is the easiest to repair. After my experience, I definitely wouldn't settle for an inferior frame because I was afraid of breaking it.

waters60

Snarky and completely missed the point of the thread. In the sense that I perceive a risk in the longevity of a carbon fiber frame, a lifetime warranty is to me a worthwhile " investment ", call it a hedge if you want. The question is whether I need to worry whether a Pinarello can expect longevity on a par with my Merckx.

abstractform20

carbon is great if you like replacing your bike every 6 months.

should be some threads on here about it.

gregf83 

You're not doing an apples to apples comparison. You are comparing a heavy steel frame to a lightweight carbon frame. The light frame will not be as durable as a heavier bike whether the heavier bike is made from carbon or steel.

If you want the lightest bike possible you'll need to make some tradeoffs. If you care more about longevity don't buy the most expensive lightest carbon frame out there because it hasn't been optimized for durability.

If you were able to find a carbon frame with an equivalent weight to your merckx it would likely be just, if not more, durable.

gsteinb

A good warranty is great. It's also unlikely to cover many of the ways a bicycle could become irreparably damaged. A carbon bike may well last 20 years. It may also tip over at the coffee shop, land on the curb, and crack.

You can get cheap, strong, or light. Pick two. The third is elusive.

miwoodar

I've had good results from Giant and Trek. Both provide lifetime warranties for the original owner and I've been extremely pleased with their responsiveness to claims.

Bacciagalupe

I'm sure the Pinarello will be fine.

CF doesn't rust, and can be repaired or replaced. As long as you take care of it and don't run it into a tree, it'll last a long time.

cale

Good use of imagery, but by the time I've spent $3k on a bike I'm not about to leave it where it will fall over. Do you hang your kids over the bear enclosure wall when you visit the zoo? :-)

pallen

I would say steel, alloy, and CF are pretty similar in terms of overall durability though they will each have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. You may get 20yrs out of a new CF bike. You might not. You also could have crashed your Merckx just the right way and destroyed it after only a year or two after purchasing it.

In general, I wouldnt recommend buying a bike you couldnt afford to replace.

Busta Quad

No, not snarky - factual. Unless you (reasonably) expect to sell the warranty for more than you paid for it....

Why not just buy your Pina from Competitive Cyclist? They have a lifetime, unlimited return policy.

Bacciagalupe

+1

gsteinb

**** happens. Even to 10k bikes.

sbxx1985 

Cursed.

I leaned my bike against the garage door. A little later, I opened the garage door from the inside. It happens.

waters60

This is the type of discussion I was looking for! I tend to treat my things very well and get way more life than ever intended out of them, so hopefully the same would apply to a new expensive bike. The idea that I should not buy a bike I cannot afford to replace is silly. I have been riding for 37 years on expensive bikes. It is my primary exercise and an important part of my life. Not having a ton of money to throw at a replacement bike does not disqualify me from having something I treat very well and expect to get a long life from. From a health perspective an expensive bike is fairly cheap investment for the benefits returned. It is a whole new world though from 1992 in terms of materials and choices. I like the concept of a lifetime return policy from CC, but have to balance that against supporting my LBS and the service they can render. I have always done my own wrenching, but it might be nice to have support from my LBS; I would definitely test ride both Trek and Pinarello and would feel awkward using them to test and then going to CC.

Brian Ratliff

BS. Where do you get this stuff?

I'll vouch for Trek's warranty.

Busta Quad

Let me guess - you've never owned one.

E.S.

Brian and BustaQuad, I think he was being sarcastic. lol

Chris Pringle

Sounds like you are one who's really careful about his bikes if you've had your main rig for 20 years. Is a CF bike right for you to keep over the next 20+ years as a good form of investment? As said before, absolutely not! You get into carbon fiber because you'd rather enjoy a particular bike for a few years and then upgrade to a newer one. That's just the way it goes! It is equivalent to leasing cars to avoid major car repairs, have the latest bells and whistles and for the fun/rush of a new vehicle. In bikes, you get into CF with the expectation that you'll upgrade every few years (2-5) - you are competitive and/or enjoy to keep up with the latest trends in material and technology. The warranty is there mainly to protect you during that period... notice that many manufacturers will only apply a full warranty for 2 years and 50% thereafter. As mentioned in another thread recently, most people prefer to buy CF bikes brand new because of warranty and to avoid any safety concerns (you don't have to worry if the bike suffered some sort of accident and now contains invisible internal cracks.) This puts a lot of downward pressure on the value of used CF bikes. On the other hand, try to sell your 20 year old steel Merckx now and you might be pleased with what you can still get for it. You can easily go to a site like DailyLister and run a comparison on your Merckx and 3-5 year old Pinarellos. IMHO, as a longterm investment and enjoyment, you owe it to yourself to look into titanium bikes (e.g., Seven, Van Nicholas, Linksey, Litespeed, Moots, etc.) and build it with the latest technology. You can even pay more if you think there's a technology that will catch on in the next few years so your bike (or at least your frame!) doesn't get outdated so quickly (e.g., disc brakes, belt drive, etc.) By the way, titanium ranks really high in comfort and durability. Randonneurs who do up 1200 Km brevets buy Ti bikes if they have the money to do so. Another high-end steel bike (also custom) shouldn't be out of the question either.

rebel1916

Carbon is great, but be very careful not to leave it out in the sun, as this can weaken the matrix and cause it to fail.

pdedes

Bikes aren't investments, they are tools. The time you choose to spend on them; now there's an investment.

miwoodar

I'm not an advocate for or against any particular material. Great bikes can be make from each. Regarding the anti-carbon folks, at least carbon can be patched if necessary.

I've destroyed steel, aluminum, and now carbon frames (and I'm not a big guy). What have I learned? I like bikes and I like buying from companies that will provide a lifetime warranty.

thechemist

Ti

Carbon Unit

My eight year old carbon frame is in perfect condition.