At first, I believed that the whole concept behind a bicycle frame made of carbon fibers was a complete and utter joke. This was back in the early eighties before most Americans really seriously considered the idea.
I then began to hear about CF tubes being joined with steel and aluminum lugs. They didn't appear to have too much success with that idea. Next, I began to hear about a company from Northern California called, Kestrel. Kestrel was supposed to have come up with the idea that bicycle frames could indeed be made up entirely of CF material.
Soon afterwards, the name Trek became linked to CF research, development and bicycle frame production.
For me, it was all just an exercise in futility. The entire idea that flimsy sheets of carbon fibers could hold the weight of a full grown adult, seemed to be absolutely preposterous. Then I began to hear about handlebars swinging into CF top tubes and breaking them. Later, all during the 1990's, I was to hear about CF frames exploding during cycling and injuring the unsuspecting cyclists. Soon the idea about CF bicycle frames became entirely laughable.
However, I would occasionally begin to see more and more CF frames in the form of road bikes. During tours with my club, it wasn't unusual to see a couple of guys on CF road bikes. I would secretly smirk and try to shrug the experience off as a quaint event. However, you can do that for just so long because you begin to see far too many on the road.
Sometime around the year 2002, I began to think of CF bikes as having potential. Yet I still viewed them as being quirky, unpredictable, and prone to catastrophic failure. However after repeated sightings of CF bike frames, you begin to suspect your own previous ideas.
So, after awhile your figure, alright, maybe there's something to this carbon stuff. Maybe it's not that bad afterall. Besides, I'm not hearing any horror stories anymore. I only have memories of the horror stories that I once heard. Hey! Those memories are fading...
This was my mindset about CF bicycle frames until this morning. Then I read this post from RobertL located in Zeerith's thread about Carbon vs. Aluminum frames. Contained within RobertL's post was the following CF Madone Trek Link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nVbmcnsXXs
Anyway, after observing this video, I have new found respect for the utilization of carbon fiber in bicyle frames, thanks to RobertL.
My only question about CF now is the following:
How does CF react to medium to high impact in small areas?
- Slim
PS.
Thanks Again RobertL! 