Originally Posted by
hatrack71
Exactly. Plus the fact it flexes/moves more than steel, thus fatiguing faster. I would think the same of carbon fiber. Plus how does carbon stand up to being outdoors constantly? I never thought they were durable in that respect. I always see peeling finish on carbon frames when they get to a certain age. That yellowing of the clear finsish over the graphite. I have a Softride beam even showing this right now. Meanwhile steel goes on and on. Even damaged/ dented steel can still perform and be OK whereas the others would be done for. So don't crash or let your bike fall over fully loaded if you're not using a good steel frame. I've seen aluminum frames get big dents just falling into a bike rack. Traveling thousands of miles on bike, one must be prepared for such a scenario. Another thing is you will have to lock your tourer at some point. So keep in mind the marks and wear a lock can make on a frame. Again, carbon does not fair well there like steel. Not to mention any damage caused to the frame by would be thieves trying to end your tour prematurely.. it happens. At least steel wouldn't be as damaged by someone trying to forcibly break a Krytonite or combo lock. Sometimes you can't always bring your bike in to certain places or have eyes on it.
Well, none of that is actually true. If built right, carbon has more impact resistance than steel so getting it knocked on stuff really isn't a problem, especially if we're talking about a purpose built tourer. There is a video I've been trying to find where they test steel vs carbon frame in impact resistance and carbon wins hands down. Carbon does have some inherent weaknesses, but those can be addressed in planning of the bike as carbon is so easy to mold into complex shapes.
Nor are the elements or outdoor life a problem since CF is pretty inert. It doesn't rust or degrade like metals do. The paint coat doesn't say anything about the durability of the material beneath, it just says that the paint isn't all that good. UV light might be a problem for the epoxy resin so if the paint does scrape off it's a good idea to cover it with something, like nail polish.