Originally Posted by
TransitBiker
It needs mentioning that lightning will go to metal first, namely lightning rods or power lines. In this case the rider made a good enough path to ground. You really think that a lightning bolt, something with enough energy to power a small town for a few seconds is going to not simply spark out of rider and to ground if bike isnt metal etc? If there's enough potential current and not too much insulating properties, these amperages and voltages will use just about any material to get to ground.
- Andy
Seems like you're talking past the point. Lightning goes wherever there's the least resistance. If your metal frame is a little less resistant than a nearby tree, the lighting will go through the metal frame. If your frame is a little more resistant than a nearby tree, it will go through the tree. If you're on the top of a hill and in an area of less resistance in the air, well, you're screwed either way.
I think a little bit of it is tongue-in-cheek against the "carbon will assplode if you touch it" crowd though. With the absurd claims of carbon fiber being fragile made by the anti-anything-new crowd, it's kind of amusing to tell them an almost-as-absurd story about how you ride carbon because you want to be protected from lightning.
I suspect a metal frame material might make a very tiny, small increase in your odds of being hit by lighting, but it's very very small.