Thread: Carbon vs. Al
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Old 09-07-22, 04:08 PM
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chas58
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Bikes: too many of all kinds

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Originally Posted by Darylb23
so I guess my rephrase the question then would be, what is the smartest way to spend between $1500 and $2500 on a new gravel bike four baby larger, older guy who is primarily going to ride flat gravel roads in South Florida. Once I get a fitness base under me and decide that I like it I would love to do some group events and even travel around a bit. At this point I’m not completely sure what my options are although I do know there are a number of Shell rock roads around here.
It depends on so many things.

How the carbon is layed up is critical. I've ridden (older) high end carbon bikes that I considered unrideable because they were way way too stiff (ever ridden a carbon bike from ~2005?). that was the fashion. Similarly, if ya get a bike from china or a no name brand, how is it gonna ride? Impossible to tell by looking at specs.

I've ridden high end Aluminum for years (again, older stuff). I find that a good stiff frame can be a nice ride with a good seat post and some cush tires. The stiff frame ensures good power delivery, while the tires & seat post give me comfort.

Ultimately you'll only know by trying it out. By trying out the same bike in carbon vs Aluminum I have found the aluminum bike to be stiffer and more buzzy feeling. Good carbon can give very efficient power transfer, while still being relatively compliant where it counts.

What is good aluminum? This would be shaped and hydroformed aluminum (not the basic round tubes). about 10 years ago, Salsa designed their aluminum bike to be more compliant than the titanium bike it replaced. That is pretty impressive.

For you specifically, it depends on how often you ride and your price sensitivity.
My carbon bike is stupid fast. Yet that only matters when I am accelerating, sprinting, or race conditions (say 500-1000watts). For cruising around at a steady state (say 150 watts) it makes no difference at all. For a steady mile pace, I'm as fast on a new carbon as a 30 year old steel bike. The steel bike is noodly, and feels like its gonna bend in half if I try to do a hard sprint, but at normal power levels, its quite fine.

for you, I don't think speed or weight will make that much of a difference (unless you become a sprinter). The comfort might. Keep in mind that carbon abrades pretty easily. I'm not gonna hand mine off the back of my car where it can wobble around and get too much rubbing - even frame bags can be an issue, but don't hesitate to do those things with a metal bike.
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