SkyDog75

I think I'm going to give up on this thread, grab my aluminum & CF road bike in the garage, and go for a ride. If you don't see me posting anymore, you'll know what happened to me.

zonatandem

YIKES!
We must have a real death wish!!!
Photos of our custom full carbon fiber Zona tandem when new in 2003 and c/f lug work; and then photos only 13 years and 45,000+ miles later.
Have broken 2 steel tandem frames and 1 steel fork on tandems.
Have bicycled over 300,000 miles of which a quarter million miles on tandem bicycles with my wife since the early 1970s. Have ridden/owned steel, alu, titanium, bamboo and carbon fiber single bikes and tandems.
ANY material can and willeventually fail.
At ages 83 and 81 we are alive and well and still pedalin' TWOgether!




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jade408

Well I think there is one important lesson here: trickle down technology from the racing world may not translate well to the use cases of us mere mortals. Shop wisely.

njkayaker

Obviously fake.

cyclintom

Absolutely. Mine on the other hand is only about 10.

As I've been saying - it isn't specifically the age but the amount of specific frequencies the frame and fork have been exposed to. Colnago implies ONE Paris-Roubaix under a top notch rider. Or on the average one season. And that lesser riders can get two seasons. Hitting the pave' isn't the precise problem but the multiple frequencies rattling through the stress points hits the proper shock waves to cause the resins to break down.

Under normal use you PROBABLY but not guaranteed will take much longer. But if you have particular rough asphalt in your area you might generate the same sort of forces that can cause these failures in very short periods of time. Over the majority of Mike's ownership of the C40 he used it almost exclusively on smooth asphalt. The California roads have only gotten out of hand over the last five years.

My eyesight has gotten weaker over the last 4 years and so I am missing water valve covers and broken asphalt and so I've been beating the bike up more than in the past. That bump that did me in was a new one It hadn't been filled with tar yet and so both sides were the same color and I could not see it. I saw Mike hit it and only had time to brace myself instead of lighten on the pedals.

The supposed "stress tests" do not offer real-life loadings. The few hard blows which generate many frequencies through the stress points are far more dangerous in carbon fiber bikes. And larger numbers of single frequency stresses are more wearing on metal frames while being completely out of normal riding experience. Forgive my lack of words since a previous carbon fork failure gave me a severe concussion which screws up my vocabulary. As does the anti-seizure medication I have to take for the rest of my life for the same carbon fork failure.

As several of the other people here did I pooh-poohed carbon failures until I actually looked into it in the last two weeks. What I DID notice was that steel rides so much better because it has a rather low initial resistance to bending. This increases disproportionately as the steel molecules are pulled into a "string". CF has a very high resistance until you reach it's failure point at which time you have a catastrophic failure.

cyclintom

What we all need is safety comments on high speed descents from a kayaker.

StanSeven

I doubt a lawyer wrote this. The only thing that showed up on google for this firm is a Facebook account!

Any international company like Colnago has a large number on in house attorneys. They don't resort to a firm with a Facebook page to handle claims.

Garfield Cat

I'm getting fatigued just reading all these.

DaveWC

Tom, you realize that your posts are just riddled with lies & mischaracterizations. You initially said the following:

Pure B.S. The dude at Colnago said that your 11 year old+ used Colnago frame and your friend's 14 year old Colnago frame had run out their useful lives. He also stated that pros use these frames for one or two seasons. Nowhere does he suggest that the useful life of the frame is 2 years. That's all you. Btw, do you wanna bet that the pros also get rid of their aluminum frames after 1 or 2 seasons? And in the past, when steel (it's real you know) frames were in vogue, they were also replaced after 1 or 2 seasons. It's all about using the latest, greatest frames to market the newest products of the sponsors.



Again, those words are purely your opinion based on your experience with two frames >11 years old. A strong case does not required blatant lies.

DaveWC

You bought it used on ebay in October, 2005.

CliffordK

I wonder if it is not the material choice, but rather attempting to achieve extreme weight reduction.

So, for example the typical department store aluminum frame is made with thick material, and has a few gussets added in high stress areas. On the other hand the high end aluminum road bikes lack the gussets. Hopefully have some kind of minimal butting, but everything is paper thin.

Likewise with steel. Some of the old Reynolds 531 and Columbus SL frames have been on the road for decades. But I've seen reports of some 90's model frames failing.

Drillium? My old Colnago had Campy rings that someone had chosen to lighten... without consideration for engineering... with the consequences of them being welded up before I got them.

But, I've seen steel frame dropouts that appear a bit more slender than one might otherwise expect... with CRACKS.

And then the CF. If the CF road frames were made like MTB frames, they should take endless of "road" abuse.

No doubt better engineering in the "modern" CF frames than the vintage CF frames. But also more weight reduction, and cutting edge design... what will that hold for future longevity?

Time to head out for another C-40 ride to ponder the consequences.

njkayaker

Every carbon bike manufacturer would have already been sued out of existence years ago if anybody really made the admissions you purported.

wphamilton

Gilberto Gentilli, Attorney at Law diritto internazionale - sicurezza prodotti looks legitimate, but not very confidence inspiring.

If you ask me, the whole purpose of the letter is to discourage OP from pursuing a product liability claim. The lawyer is barely older than the bike. I'd take it all with a grain of salt.

bikepro

I have a 10 year old Look 585 and it hasn't self-destructed yet. Of course I never let it stay in the extreme heat or cold or let it get wet.

cyclintom

Surprise - that bike was LONG gone. I have another with a B-stay. Too bad you allow your stupidity to overrun your ignorance.

cyclintom

And here I thought that "you are correct, Mr. Kunich, when you observe that our frames are built for racing conditions far more severe that the bumps you hit in your recent rides. Indeed, as you probably know, the C-40 and C-50 (which share the identical technology) still hold the record for most victories in the Paris-Roubaix. However frames used by professionals are used for one, or maximum two seasons after which they are either destroyed or sold (by the teams themselves) to private individuals with the understanding that they are purchasing them at their sole risk and responsibility."

was pretty plainly saying that Colnago will deny responsibility for any damage after 2 years. "after which they are destroyed"

At least you'll learn for yourself.

cyclintom

Of course you're right. And in an American court failures of this sort would NOT be allowed. The point is that you aren't going to make any sort of settlement if you're dead.

cyclintom

Cliff - the whole idea of using a stiffer material is so that you can use less of it to obtain the same strength. But this weight savings makes absolutely no difference to anyone but professional racers or the play racers who think that they're really hot. I'm big, heavy and old but occasionally I'll get pushed out of shape by people running away from groups on climbs and I'll run them down and pass them. Next thing you know they have a newer lighter bike with electric shifting. The difference between a good steel build and the same CF build is less than three lbs.

Is taking a chance worth the little amount of weight and that huge difference in price? Hell, I been leading a group down a steep downhill mountain road at 30 mph in a sharp turn and had rear blowouts and retained control of the bike in a full broad slide. But there was nothing I could do when my bike would not steer.

My experience with steel frame failures was that a chain stay tube cracked and you lost some control but not all. I've NEVER seen a good steel bike lose the head tube in one second.

cyclintom

And if memory serves that bike has aluminum lugs like my Look KG 247 Tour Replica. These sorts do not have the stress points that are such a danger.

cyclintom

The entire idea of this posting was to give you people a warning of the dangers of carbon fiber bike failures. Though one has to wonder how many of those people complaining about how safe and sane carbon fiber is sell those same CF bikes.

If you wish to deny it of what difference does it make to me? Remember your complaints on the first bounce because you'll probably not remember after the second. I have a whole collection of bikes of which 5 of them are Colnagos. But I certainly won't buy another after that letter to Michael.

one4smoke

AlmostTrick

"Send CF bikes to me" has been proposed by many now. This request is tired and and no longer humorous. Why would anyone give away bikes they could SELL to riders who are unconcerned of the higher risk of catastrophic failure... and the results of such?

My previous CF bike helped fund the cost of my latest steel bikes. Less risk of failure and extra money for a new bike. Win-Win

prathmann

Haven't lost the head tube, but I have had the steerer snap in well under a second on a steel bike. The bottom of the head tube was smashed immediately afterwards when it (along with assorted parts of my body) hit the pavement.

CliffordK

No doubt just poking a little fun.

If I deem a bike in my possession is not safe to ride, then it will either be repaired, or will not ever be sold.

CliffordK

I must say that I really like how my C-40 rides. It is quick, light, responsive, and tracks well. I'm still only down to about 18 pounds. I'm hoping to eventually shave off another pound or so with a few component upgrades.

I would disagree with any assertion that mere mortals shouldn't ride nice bikes. Beach Cruisers for all?

I went on a hill climb ride this spring... it was tough... VERY TOUGH. If I do it again next year, I'll consider every pound very carefully. Hopefully I can avoid the rain gear. I don't have a personal Sherpa to carry food and water to the top of the hill... so that has to go with the bike. Perhaps it is the pros that don't need the featherweight bikes!!!

I don't think anybody mentioned the UCI 15 pound limit yet.

Perhaps both component longevity, and the dissemination of "pro technology" to the general public would be reason to keep the limit. No need to push for bikes that self disintegrate every couple hundred miles.

Also, the prices on Carbon Fiber bikes and components are quickly coming down to about the same as similar quality/age of steel or aluminum bikes.