Carbon fiber bike life span
#126
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I am still riding the Trek 5200 CF road bike I purchased in 2001. There are many used Trek 5200 bikes for sale so durability in the real world is not an issue. I would be more concerned about a downhill mountain bike with CF forks self-destructing than with a road bike.
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#127
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BF - carbon frames are bad for the environment, they last forever in landfills and won't ever degrade.
Also BF - How long can I ride my carbon bike before it dissolves out from under me and kills me?
Also BF - How long can I ride my carbon bike before it dissolves out from under me and kills me?
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I might think that from a product liability standpoint, most carbon bike manufacturers would over build their bikes rather than vice versa. It would only take a fatality or serious injuries from a failure (no matter the age of the frame) to put them under an undesirable spot light.
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#130
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I might think that from a product liability standpoint, most carbon bike manufacturers would over build their bikes rather than vice versa. It would only take a fatality or serious injuries from a failure (no matter the age of the frame) to put them under an undesirable spot light.
Last edited by Atlas Shrugged; 12-14-22 at 01:42 PM.
#131
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There's a difference between "structural integrity" and "environmental persistence."
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I might think that from a product liability standpoint, most carbon bike manufacturers would over build their bikes rather than vice versa. It would only take a fatality or serious injuries from a failure (no matter the age of the frame) to put them under an undesirable spot light.
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#134
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I might think that from a product liability standpoint, most carbon bike manufacturers would over build their bikes rather than vice versa. It would only take a fatality or serious injuries from a failure (no matter the age of the frame) to put them under an undesirable spot light.
This being said, I believe you are correct that most carbon fiber bikes are overbuilt.
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One would think this is the case. Although the bean counters at Ford didn't think that way when they skimped on the design of the Pinto. They even admitted it was cheaper to pay damages to victims' families than to spend an extra $8 per car to make it safe.
This being said, I believe you are correct that most carbon fiber bikes are overbuilt.
This being said, I believe you are correct that most carbon fiber bikes are overbuilt.
During my summers home from school, I drove a company Ford Pinto picking up specimens for a laboratory from doctors offices. I am so lucky considering the miles I, and my fellow drivers, put on those rolling bombs.
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#138
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I had a Ford Pinto for a couple of years. I even got rear ended in it, and it didn't go boom. A few years later I got a Bobcat, which was a really nice Pinto.
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I believe Ford eventually had a recall repair on the Pintos and Bobcats after enough people were cremated in those cars.
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I remember those too. Think they were from Mercury. Little brother of the Cougar? (We had a 67 Cougar then)
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One would think this is the case. Although the bean counters at Ford didn't think that way when they skimped on the design of the Pinto. They even admitted it was cheaper to pay damages to victims' families than to spend an extra $8 per car to make it safe.
This being said, I believe you are correct that most carbon fiber bikes are overbuilt.
This being said, I believe you are correct that most carbon fiber bikes are overbuilt.
I recall that Ford episode very clearly. It was the most abhorrent disregard of human life for profit of that time. Of course now we have the Sacler family and OxyContin and so many more.
During my summers home from school, I drove a company Ford Pinto picking up specimens for a laboratory from doctors offices. I am so lucky considering the miles I, and my fellow drivers, put on those rolling bombs.
During my summers home from school, I drove a company Ford Pinto picking up specimens for a laboratory from doctors offices. I am so lucky considering the miles I, and my fellow drivers, put on those rolling bombs.
Ford's inefficient decision was in concealing what they knew about the Pinto from their potential buyers. Information asymmetry is a well-understood market failure that leads to inefficient outcomes."
Last edited by Koyote; 12-14-22 at 09:32 PM.
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And yet, virtually all government regulation, by law, must go through cost-benefit analysis before implementation -- which is essentially what Ford Motor Co did with the Pinto. As Lombard notes, they calculated that it was cheaper to pay off the lawsuits (for injuries and deaths) than to fix the vehicles. Given that such legal settlements are generally based upon the economic values of the lives lost (or injuries sustained), and such numbers are easily calculated for generic individuals and for specific individuals, one could argue that it was indeed more sensible to sell the Pinto as-is. I mean, we could have a society in which no one -- not one single person -- would ever be killed in an auto mishap. But none of us is willing to bear the enormous costs of that policy. We make these decisions - as individuals and as societies - all the time.
Ford's inefficient decision was in concealing what they knew about the Pinto from their potential buyers. Information asymmetry is a well-understood market failure that leads to inefficient outcomes."
Ford's inefficient decision was in concealing what they knew about the Pinto from their potential buyers. Information asymmetry is a well-understood market failure that leads to inefficient outcomes."
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Dodge/Chrysler had a similar ploy with faulty rear hatches on their mini-vans. They would unlatch and somehow eject rear passengers - the physics of this evades me. I believe they did a similar CBA and decided fixing the latches didn’t make economic sense until the Feds forced their hand.
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#146
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One would think this is the case. Although the bean counters at Ford didn't think that way when they skimped on the design of the Pinto. They even admitted it was cheaper to pay damages to victims' families than to spend an extra $8 per car to make it safe.
This being said, I believe you are correct that most carbon fiber bikes are overbuilt.
This being said, I believe you are correct that most carbon fiber bikes are overbuilt.
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And yet, virtually all government regulation, by law, must go through cost-benefit analysis before implementation -- which is essentially what Ford Motor Co did with the Pinto. As Lombard notes, they calculated that it was cheaper to pay off the lawsuits (for injuries and deaths) than to fix the vehicles. Given that such legal settlements are generally based upon the economic values of the lives lost (or injuries sustained), and such numbers are easily calculated for generic individuals and for specific individuals, one could argue that it was indeed more sensible to sell the Pinto as-is; the cost of fixing the problem was greater than the value of the lives lost and the injuries sustained. We could have a society in which no one -- not one single person -- would ever be killed in an auto mishap. But none of us is willing to bear the enormous costs of that policy. We make these decisions - as individuals and as societies - all the time.
Ford's inefficient decision was in concealing what they knew about the Pinto from their potential buyers. Information asymmetry is a well-understood market failure that leads to inefficient outcomes."
Ford's inefficient decision was in concealing what they knew about the Pinto from their potential buyers. Information asymmetry is a well-understood market failure that leads to inefficient outcomes."
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#150
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