-VELOCITY-

I currently have an aluminum bike. However I hear so many people talking about carbon frames. What are the pros and cons of carbon fiber? Thanks.

not2fast

Pros: You win at the local "Show and tell" known as club rides.

Cons: You lose at the bank!

caligurl

for me....

pros of carbon... much smoother ride

cons.... if i crash it... expensive to replace!

it's usually lighter... but i add so much stuff to it.. that it doesn't really matter! lol! (like my silly, very non-OCP handlebar bag!) but for some people... the lighter weight is, of course... a PRO

GuitarWizard

Carbon fiber pros:

- very comfortable, dampened ride (depending on the manufacturer; carbon frames can be made really stiff as well)
- no road harmonics
- fairly light
- ability for manufacturers to manipulate stiffness and compliance into the frames

Carbon fiber cons:

- typically expensive
- not very strong when force is directly applied to the tube (like in a bike workstand)
- sunlight can break down a frame over the years (at least nude carbon, like my bike is)
- some people think it has a "dead" feel to it, but that's only the lack of road harmonics that ferrous frames give off. If you want to hear a ping every time you hit a crack in the road, buy an aluminum/steel/titanium bike.


I have several thousand miles on both my Trek 5200 (full carbon) and 2100 (carbon/aluminum), and I don't forsee myself going to another frame material for quite some time. Perhaps aluminum if I buy a race-only beater bike, but that's about it. I love the ride and overall fit my OCLV frame gives, so there's no reason to get anything else.

caligurl

oh... ya... forgot about that! example: hubby had a VERY stiff isaac full carbon... he now has a 585 (i think 585?) look... the look is a MUCH cushier ride than the isaac was!

my carbon is a ruby... as in the roubaix as in... made for comfort (as well as racing)

so different frames ride differently!

not2fast

So that's what you're calling it now??

Sorry , couldnt resist!!

Nims

It's pointless to talk about characteristics of a frame in response to a question about materials (although that's all we seem to do around here)

Carbon vs. Aluminum in terms of the raw material, the long/short of it is that carbon is much stronger for a given weight, or much lighter for a given strength, depending on how you feel like looking at it. Same difference.

With regards to the comments about the lack of uni-directional strength in carbon, while that is true, I don't see that as a reason for concern unless you plan on abusing the frame or doing something very odd. While carbon loaded improperly may not be as strong as an alloy, it is certainly not weak!

Most of the characteristics people will talk about are determined by frame design, not material. So you need to have common sense and some faith in which ever manufacturer you choose to support.

Bottom Line:
If you are very concerned with weight, buy a carbon frame. If you aren't, buy aluminum or steel.

-James

DocRay

-Pedalforce
-NO frame is meant to clamped on a workstand, steel, ally, whatever.
-sunlight cannot breakdown CF, UV cannot penetrate the cosmetic weave layer.
-this is a generalization and assumes that all CF frames are the same, or any frame material for that matter.

otherwise, do a search.

-VELOCITY-

Wow. Very good feedback so far. Thanks.

Pro

I got a question about carbon fiber. I work at a grocery store and I bring my Madone 5.2 bike in the store with me sometimes. I bring it right inside the dairy cooler downstairs where the temperature ranges from 0C to 6C. Is leaving it in such a cold temperature bad for the frame at all? And would moving it between the hot (I go for rides on lunch and put it back into the cooler within 2 hours) and the cold be bad for the strength of the frame?

Carbon fiber education, please!

TIA!

allez

I would stop doing this immediately. I dont know exactly what will/can happen to a frame (of ANY material, but CF especially), but the laws of physics regarding the compression and expansion of materials in extreme temperature changes scare me a little.

badkarma

Actually, I've found that usually carbon frames are heavier - but seriously we're talking about fractions of a pound. Definitely agree on the smoother to ride tho.

allez

Can you show some examples? I've rarely seen a carbon frame heavier than a frame of another material made by the same company. I know Merlin's Ti frames are lighter than some of their CF frames, but thats all I can think of off the top of my head.

edit: and the Litespeed Ghisallo......of course.

smoke

here ya go, velocity. start at this site and read all the way through. some really good stuff. granted, this doesn't get into the "feel" of it, but it's good from an engineering standpoint:

https://www.sjsu.edu/orgs/asmtms/artcle/articl.htm

smoke

Phatman

umm...I dunno about you, but I know many many people that ride their bikes in 0-6 degrees C weather. thats like ~40 some to 32 degrees F. I think you'll be ok.

sverrefehn

An example for allez: Bianchi 928 Carbon lugged vs. Bianchi FG Lite (aluminum) w/ carbon Monostay. Bianchi does not post their frame weights, so unless you have access to unbuilt frames, you would have no way of knowing.
I weighed two different 928 lugged frames. Both size 59. One came in at 3.14 lbs., the other was 2.92 lbs. Seems the heavier one had quite a thick top coat of resin. The FG Lite, size 59, came in at 2.7 lbs. It would be even less with aluminum seatstays instead of the carbon monostay.
That's just one example, of course. Carbon has the ability to be designed lighter, but not all carbon bikes are designed that way. It all depends on intent.

allez

Please reread the two posts you are commenting about. He says he keeps it in a freezer for a couple of hours during the day. It is currently August. Average day......90-95 degrees in the sun. That means having a bike in the sun for some time, then dropping it ~65-70 degrees into freezing temperatures. This is not normal. I understand that people (myself included) ride their bikes in similar temperatures, but they do not proceed to store it in a 95 degree climate once they are out of the cold. On top of this he says he does this a couple times a day.......im not an expert, but these are not normal riding conditions, and I would never do this to my frame.

wagathon

That's like asking about the pros and cons of a college education.

Let's start with the cons: it's expensive, if you don't have it then you're probably more likely to say it's no big deal, you can live without it, and . . . Reynolds 853 is pretty hard to beat.

Pros: CF is even better than 853, and even if you do not have a CF frame, it will probably show up sooner or later as components on a bike that you like.

oilman_15106

Yes, DBR carbon bikes. How about a 20 pound cf bike? Although it was a 59cm frame.

flatlander_48

VeloNews did an article for the magazine in which they tested a bunch of pro level carbon frames and one titanium frame (the Litespeed Ghisallo). ALL were under 1000 grams (2.2 pounds) with the lightest at 880 grams (1.94 pounds) as I remember. I don't believe there have been any metal frames in the TdF for the last few years. The last one I remember was a magnesium deal (Pinarello Dogma perhaps?). Anyway, other than the Litespeed model, I don't know of any other metal frames under 1 kg.

Regarding the carbon bike and freezer deal...
I don't think that is a good idea. There's no problem with the temperature extremes, but I would worry about the rapid transition. Also, there are metal inserts in the carbon for threaded connections. Depending on what they are made of, they could expand or contract a bit differently and separate from the carbon. Corrosion of the metal could also develop between the metal and carbon due to condensation from the rapid heating and cooling cycles.

cs1

Pros: Posuer points
Cons: https://69.16.211.161/showthread.php?t=215619

Tim

SeanKimStyle

I am 5' 11" 200lbs i am built for power and speed.. I have legs like a race horse, and I can climb the hills like no other. I rode my Aluxx Aluminum Moutain Bike for over 3 months. Do I go with full carbon road bike or do I go with Steel or Aluminum. I am going to get Bianchi, either 928 or Pinella XL Boron... I am just keep hearing carbon fiber is weak. Wonder it could last long for me. When I get a road bike, I'll be riding more than 250 miles a week.

MichaelW

Many people say that carbon fibre must be good because it is used in aircraft. If you read the aviation press you will find a pretty serious debate going on regarding the inspection process for carbon fibre planes. The current visual inspection routine has not been able to pick up some serious delamination failures so they are thinking about using ultrasound/xrays or some other non destructive testing to see inside the structures.

I think the "problems" of carbon in bicycles are the problems of any ultra-light weight-weenie bike, too little material used too close to its limit. Even a steel ultralight will suffer from dents and cracks with heavy use.

EURO

There aren't really any cons.

fmw

Nor are there any meaningful pros.