Originally Posted by Cactus
Over the winter I built a carbon frame. From a bling standpoint, its pretty cool. Sloping top-tube geometry with a 56cm actual seat tube. 16.44 lbs with clincher Ksyrium SLs. Of course, I don't ride those suckers - they're too expensive - they're just to prove the point. I got it painted and built up recently, and took it out on a ride with my buds who did a double take 'cuz I'm usually on a steel frame with fenders (OhMyGod). Anyhow, as they were looking it over and talking after the ride (and asking if I could make them one), someone asked: "Now what's the advantage of carbon?" Before I could say: "It looks cool", someone interrupted and said: "It absorbs shock really well, titanium does too." Should I tell them I that tires abosorb shock, frames hold things together? What would you do?
i like this. i'm not sure if my more recent posts here have been good examples of who i am, and what my philosophies about bicycling are, but here's the deal. i'm a retro grouch, with a serious gadget fetish. all hail the friction shifter, the square taper, the quill stem, 42/52 chainrings and 5 speed corn cob clusters, but not cotton tape --it bothers me. all of my frames are steel. my classy roadie is an old lugged italian steel with a moniker that starts with a "P." it has a 1" welded steel quill stem, but also STIs and an octalink BB. my "daily commuter" is an old trek with mile-long chainstays, moustache bars, and a 1" threadless fork/stem/headset, which up until recently had bar end shifters (i scored some ultegra STIs for nothing, so i'm usin' 'em) i was bummed when i found out the original threaded steerer tube had been replaced with a threadless one; i had a technomic all ready to go. i will probably never own a road bike other than this that has a threadless setup. i don't need it. MTB is a different story. despite seeing plenty of folks out there with 1" threaded headsets and quill stems, i have no confidence in that system for my style of riding...even XC.
carbon looks cool. it also absorbs shock, but in a different way than steel or Ti does. carbon tends to absorb the more high frequency road "buzz." steel and Ti smooth out the bigger jolts, while leaving the buzz. carbon will make you feel the larger jolts, but deaden the aftershocks. people seem to think it gives you a "better" connection to the road, i think it feels dead. if i was some whippet racerboy, hell yes i'd be on blingy carbon fiber with all the latest doodads and widgets...but i'm not, and still, i make it through the hilliest of rides on my 22lb steel bike. i still keep pace with the wannabes on their 18lb wonderbikes. it makes me wonder what i would be capable of on lighter bike, and i get the bike lust and dream and scheme of ways to afford that six13. then i come to my senses and realise: "i don't NEED that." very few people "need" that. too many people buy that. i think i would say something along the lines of, "carbon is stupid, don't ever use it." i own one carbon component, the handlebar for my XC bike. it's a $120 bar that i got for $20 off a customer who wanted something he could put bar-ends on. had i not gotten an amazing deal on it, i'd be riding the $20 EA-30 bar, and would never have even thought about a carbon handlebar. i'll never buy a brand new one. i don't see the point, i don't see the advantage of carbon anything for bicycling.
the rivendell thing bugs me. i think it's been mentioned before on this forum about how grant peterson had the oportunity to change the course of modern bicycling when he was running the show for bridgestone USA. i'm not sure why he gave that up to start a company that produces the bikes that most people SHOULD be on, but because they are so low-volume, are out of reach for the very people who they claim to be making these bikes for...the everyman. the person who needs a bike to get around town, to do everything on. it really irks me to listen to him complain about the trends in modern cycling when he could've made it more mainstream and practical.
i like to defend the new stuff, because it has it's place. being a mechanic, i appreciate how much goes into the design and enojy how it makes cycling more efficient for the talented few who can actually make use of the technology.