Howdy,

I'm new to the Forum, not so new to cycling. I currently ride a 57cm Bianchi Axis, of which I put Conti Gators on it and riding road. Primarily got it for the do-everything facet of the bike, of which I'm well pleased with.

Due to my continual increasing riding long distance rides and wanting to go faster, I'm looking at a full fledged road bike. I do not want an Al bike. The axis is Al and is slowly killing me, as is the size; I'm 6'6" and that 57cm is simply too small. Weight is not an issue; I come in at 185lb but I'm looking for a sub 20lb ride. So I'm looking at either steel or CF. I was looking at Ti, but a $5500 custom Moots does not fit my pocket book very well. So I boiled it down to the Jamis Eclipse or Bianchi Infinito. My LBS has a 2007 CF/steel Jamis Eclipse frame going for $900 and looks to be the best of both worlds and its a 59cm (I could still make it work with a long stem and seat post). But I really want and fallen head over heels for the absolutely beautiful Bianchi Infinito. My only hangup is the longevity/fatigue like of carbon.

I do not want to have to worry about the every little scratch or nick on my frame. I ride a lot in both urban and country settings, over all sorts of roads. I love the fact that my Axis can handle everything. I've broken mtn bikes over the stuff I've taken my Axis over (yes, trails and drops). I know carbon technology has come a long way and I have no intention of bombing it down trails or gravel roads. And as I have gotten older my riding style is less aggressive and more disciplined. But I don't want to worry if my $3000+ ride could crack and be gone at a moments notice. I know for fact that steel will not do this. I like the feel of both CF and steel and my budget tops off roughly at $3500.

So, here is my question for the riders who would like to contribute: can a CF frame last 6-10 years if treated properly under normal riding conditions (not racing, not in the rain, avoiding pot holes and rough roads, but still putting in 100-150 miles per week) and stored in doors? I live in TX and so I ride in the heat and sun. I never wreck. I have in the past but now I don't put myself in the position to wreck. So.... will it last? Will the Bianchi Infinito go the distance? Coast to Coast.... hardy har har.

I'd like to hear from die hard CF fans to "steel is real" roadies, to everything in between. Any people out there who got CF, broke it and gave it a second chance? Any horror stories? Any testimonials?

Thanks for your time if you simply read this entire post. Even more thanks if you choose to respond.

Dave West

Have you tried searching? This topic has been gone over many times in the past.

Habanero Ti FTW.

I certainly hope so. Mine is 5 years old and I'm not planning on getting another any time soon.

I've had steel, ti and carbon frames break, and I'm only 140 lbs. There is no bike frame material that is 100% secure against breakage, at least not in a weight that people are willing to buy. OTOH I have had friends ride and race on the same carbon frame for 10 years before it finally died.

You can get Ti frames for much cheaper than a $5500 Moots. Habanero is a good outfit that's been around for a while.

Whatever you get, make sure there's a decent warranty that the company will stand behind, and the company is sound enough to be there in three or five years when you need it.

I've got to wonder how you know this for a fact. I've had two steel bikes break on me and my main bike now is an aluminum one with at least three times the mileage that either of the steel bikes had at the time that they broke. BTW, I also find the aluminum bike to be a little more comfortable on long rides than any of my steel bikes if they're all equipped with the same seat and tires (but at the moment the steel tourer is better due to wider tires and more comfortable seat). I find the comfort to be more a function of the frame geometry and fit as well as tire, seat, and bar choice rather than having much to do with the frame material.

This seems really, really small to me for a person who is 6' 6".

Buying a frame and then saying you can "make it work" with a long stem and seat post is a bad idea, IMHO. Sounds to me like your LBS is trying too hard to unload a 3-year-old frame.

BTW, I'd be shocked if you get any usual information about frame materials out of this thread. This topic has been beaten to death on this forum and elsewhere. My advice would be to do a couple of hours research on your own and then make a decision. You'll get a bunch of anecdotes here about frames that have broken...then someone will post a link to the 'busted carbon' website, etc.

Focus on fit, first, materials, second.

A good CF bike can last you for the rest of your life. The only thing that will hurt it is a high impact crash which will also hurt steel. I have a Calfee Tetra. Calfee has been building CF bikes since 1988 and his bikes from the late 80s are still on the road. CF has an infinite fatigue life.

As for as not worrying about every scratch, my Calfee has no finish at all just raw carbon which is called nude. I like it. Rocks and debris will not scratch it. So, I am never concerned that will look any different from the day I bought it. You might not like the look of a nude frame but I do.

Here is an Testrider review of a Calfee Luna which has a nude finish.

https://www.testrider.com/fly.aspx?la...0&preroll=true


If you managed to hit a tree on your CF bike, it can be easily fixed, by Calfee. Craig Calfee has fixed more than 2000 frames in the past seven or eight years.


You have a local builder in Texas that makes great carbon bikes. Google Crumpton Bikes.

Sure, it'll probably last 6-10 years if you care for it as described, but when I drop big $$$ on a bike I intend for it to last much longer than that, and the jury's still out on whether carbon is up to that kind of longevity.

There jury is not out. There are lots of carbon fiber bikes that are over 20 years old and still used daily.

Stop buying bikes that don't fit you. At 6 6 you need at least a 62 or 63.

Do you keep your cars for 10-20 years too?

Why do people post questions like this? Maybe it's just bad timing for me to rant about this posting (and no direct offense to the author since I see comments like this all the time), but comments like this just seem to insult people's intellect. More than sexual innuendos and other childish comments, this type of comment grates me the most. Please give the OP due respect and assume that there is good reason for a new thread.

I've broken a few pieces of carbon fiber. I still ride a full carbon fiber bike. The first two breaks were a seatmast that was poorly designed.

Considering how many people are riding carbon fiber, and how many airplanes, race cars, motorcycles, sailboats, etc. use it, don't you think someone would've noticed if it was inherently dangerous?

I do. I have 235,000 on my BMW. I have had it for 8 years and will keep it at least another two years. The BMW I had before that I bought in 1995 and sold in 2005. It was running fine when I sold it.

Do you now?



From here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-Rosa-vs-Focus

A CF bike will outlast the BMW.

Wow! You must drive a lot. I have 170K on my fourteen-year-old Bimmer. While it needs a new clutch soon and I'm taking it in next week for a major tune-up ($550), it's still a lot cheaper than a new car.

Yes, I am in sales. I drive over a 100 miles a day almost everyday. However, I am trying to switch jobs then I will spend time on an airplane rather than in my car.

I love BMWs they last forever if well take care of. Mine is a 1995 station wagon. The wagon comes in handy for hauling bicycles. As you can probably tell, I really like bikes.

There is no good reason. I been reading this forum for years and can't even remember how many times this exact topic has been hashed out over page after page. I do realize that if nobody were to ask questions, there wouldn't be any content, but at the same time he will learn more from searching than he will from making the 3,756th thread on this topic.

If Pcad, arguably the Pope of BF, gets no respect, nobody gets it.

That's the BF Way (I'd say that's the 41 Way, but it's even worse over in the 33).

CF bikes can last 6-10 years even if treated improperly.

The only downside to CF is that there are just too many choices out there right now--too many nice bikes.

For example, I am not a Fuji fan but one of my riding buds just got a Fuji SST 1.0 in Black and that thing is just too sexy and super light for an ISP design.

I guess we'll see about that.

it varies, as an industrial designer by trade we deal with aerospace material all the time.

the material itself is as good as it's building and design process, anyone actually work with raw cf, honeycomb structure
can tell you the samething.

my 5years old TCR is still in perfect shape, it's a matter of doing all the precaution and taking care of your bike.

Thanks for keeping count. It only feels like 3,755 to me.

In addition to being repetitive, none of the threads actually provide useful data. Just anecdotes:

- I broke my xxx frame.
- I didn't break my yy frame.

I'm not criticizing folks who post to these threads, just wondering why we would expect this thread to be helpful.