dropping the carbon
 

Ive been researching aluminium frames and noticed that several brands have dropped the carbon fiber bits from there aluminium bikes.Correct me if I am wrong but Specialized and Orbea used to have carbon seatstays and now are full aluminium with only carbon fork. Any reason for this?

Probably a combination of steady falling of Full CF frame price and the lack of performance advantage of CF seatstays.

Don't worry.

I'm very worried. :o :twitchy:

You got carbon in my aluminum! No, you got aluminum in my carbon! Marketing, marketing, marketing.

To expand on that ^^^. If Patrick Zevo (from the movie Toys) was a cyclist:

"I can't even ride. The elements keep touching. I like Cat 1 bikes, I'm a Cat 1 man, I want a Cat 1 bike. I want my aluminum front triangle to be quarantined! I like a little fortress around my seat tube so the Carbon doesn't invade my Aluminum and cause mixing on my bike! I HATE IT when different elements touch! I'm a Cat 1 man, you understand that? And don't let your carbon and aluminum touch either, please?

Candy mint!
Breath mint!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gj7ktz2k5k

New Shimmer is a floor wax! No! It's a desert topping!

Adding carbon stays to an aluminum frame requires a lot of additional work for little benefit. You need heavier alum end bits, epoxy (usually flexible), and you run the chance of corrosion. I looked into this for my frameset but I couldn't see benefits so I skipped it. For me cost wasn't an issue - I wanted significantly lighter, more efficient (stiffer), or (as a side benefit) more comfortable frame. I couldn't get any of those with carbon add-ons.

cdr