Originally Posted by
Yellowlab
Wow, that's pretty wild! I didn't realize even the z shaped part was carbon fiber also. Makes sense though, I guess anyone with a prosthetic leg would not want a solid metal foot to pull around. I'm assuming where you are on a bike forum that the prosthetic leg still allows you to cycle? If so that's awesome, good for you.
As far as heating the alloy frame, fortunately I wasn't sure about the level when I put it on the bike frame so I kept it pretty tame. Partly because the bike has internal cable routing through the top tube and I did not want to melt the plastic casing of the cable so I'm sure I did not get the frame heated to the point of damaging the aluminum but I'm glad you told me for future reference. The heat was largly because the repair was curing overnight in a pretty chilly garage (around 50 degrees or so) and I knew I did not want to leave it that cold. Basically it was at such a temperature that I could grab the top tube with my hand and it felt very warm but not hot.
Do you think a fully fiberglass repair would have been more appropriate here given the nature of compression on the top tube?
Yes, I do think a fully fibreglass repair would have been stronger in that application, but in the end, I don't think it matters that much. You have both, it will work as intended - not least due to your many wraps.
As for the leg and cycling. I could cycle with the leg before I could properly walk on it (it's about 5.5 years ago I was amputated). I can even play football (soccer) with it, climb a tree with my daughter, and so on. There is not much I can't do. Compared to my "bum" foot before that in the end had me in lots of pain everyday, had me take an hour every morning before I could fully put my weight on the leg, and had me walking with a cane and I still could only walk about 100 metres (300 ft) at a time before I needed a break due to foot pain, the amputation was the right choice and has given me increased mobility and a much better quality of life in general.
Yes, both the cow's foot and the stump holster is CF.