cfblakeman

I dabbled in cycling 25 years ago; got into it seriously four years ago with the purchase of a very high-end carbon framed bike (Specialized Tarmac SL2 Pro, now an SL4 Pro because the SL2 fell apart). I've been very disappointed ever since. My 24 year old aluminum Cannondale still has all the same components/frame it had 24 years ago. But on the carbon bike, just about every component and even the frame itself has fallen apart in the first four years. Thousands in extra cost and real safety issues.

I'm a slow learner. The Cannondale was top of the market back then (Dura-Ace, etc.) and still performs flawlessly for its age. The Tarmac, also close to top end, has been a speed demon, and an absolute pile of junk mechanically. It took me four years to realize that "high-end" in today's bike market doesn't have anything to do with good mechanical structure, durability, or even safety (the crashes I've had with the Tarmac due to stuff falling apart should have landed me in the hospital a few times.)

See my blog post on this on my business blog - https://chuckb.me/xeK

The point - bike manufacturers and bike shops need to start sharing both the virtue (speed) and the liabilities (no durability, fragile, less safe, high maintenance, TONS of extra cost after purchase) of pushing the design parameters to the limits of technology. I think they have relied on people just being bike geeks and "knowing" they are buying race cars that need a new transmission every 500 miles, but that's no excuse. An awful lot of "novices" like me are buying high-end or carbon bikes thinking they will hold up like my old Cannondale (and still perform well like it does). But to date, I don't see any manufacturers or bike shops warning people they are buying maintenance projects that are less safe than ever. The mechanics I know are beginning to say it a lot, but the bike stores and the sales people are still just selling the virtues (speed) without the warnings (fragility, extra cost, safety issues), etc.

When do you think manufacturers and bike shops will have to start being transparent on the whole story? Or do you think that biking is somehow different than the rest of the consumer market and people should just be geeks and "know" before the buy, without any warnings from the manufacturers/shops?

Homebrew01

This should be fun. :
****

I only have aluminum & steel bikes, but I don't know of anyone locally that has had any major problems with their carbon bikes or the components. If a carbon frame gets damaged, it can most likely be repaired more easily & cheaply than steel or aluminum.

cxwrench

Jakedatc

Took 2 years away from BF to come back to complaining about his Tarmac..... all of his posts are on this subject.. give it a rest dude

Dudelsack 

Why the popcorn and ****? It's not like he thinks Lance didn't really do it or something

I for one would be interested to know if this is a wide-spread phenomenon or if the OP just had really bad luck.

Ricanfred

++subscribed++

StanSeven

Wide-spread phenomenon? Like all Specialized falls apart? Come on you know better. This guy's experience is isolated and he's come back to complain more after three years away.

Homebrew01

Seven defective wheels – cracked rims at spoke holes !?!? ........... What kind of wheels ? How much do you weigh ?? I have had 1, maybe 2 since 1978

Both front chain rings replaced at 3k miles – defective – too thin/light; recall........... Can't remember ever wearing out chainrings before swapping to a different crankset for a different reason .... Small ring I could understand

Entire crankset declared “too old” and in need of replacement at 12k miles ..... Huh ??

Back derailleur hanger snapped on new frame at 12 months old (4.5k miles) – destroyed back derailleur and back wheel .... Sounds like it was misadjusted.

With all the other problems, this sounds like everything possible going wrong. Not typical of anyone I have come across.

cfblakeman

Dudelsack, that's my interest as well - is it isolated or wide-spread. I've had quite a few people tell me it's not, but frankly, they are all metal-bike geeks (of which, I am now one). I posted this because I went back and reviewed the repair history of both bikes and was stunned when I added it all up. Here's the damage:

Repair History of the 24 year-old, high-end aluminum Cannondale w/ Dura-Ace components-90k+ miles:
• Regular tune ups. All original components, wheels and frame still functioning very well.


Repair History of the four year-old Specialized Tarmac SL2 Pro w/ Dura-Ace components – 4.5k miles per year – 14k total miles:
• Complete frame replaced at 9k miles – Bottom Bracket separated from carbon frame
• Seven defective wheels – cracked rims at spoke holes
• Both front chain rings replaced at 3k miles – defective – too thin/light; recall
• Head tube defective at app. 1k miles – full manufacturer recall – too thin/light – had fallen apart on some riders
• Bottom Bracket (BB30) rebuilt five times.
• Front derailleur replaced – snapped while being tuned up
• Seat post bracket defective at 5k miles – too thin/light – replaced w/ heavier one.
• Front brake lever replaced at 8k miles – internal mechanism messed up
• Entire crankset declared “too old” and in need of replacement at 12k miles
• Back derailleur hanger snapped on new frame at 12 months old (4.5k miles) – destroyed back derailleur and back wheel
• Back derailleur replaced at 14k miles
• Loud clicking and grinding noises on every turn of the crankset (people can hear me coming for 20-30 yards back) – never resolved.

ill.clyde

three years between posts .... I think he just wants to flog his blog post a little

rjones28 

I think I would have switch back to the Cannondale quite a while ago, if all that bad stuff was happening to my new bike.

cxwrench

Funny, but I can't remember ever hearing about any of those recalls, especially D/A chainrings being recalled because they were "too thin/light". Gimme a break.

ill.clyde

On one hand, 14,000 miles in four years? Sh'ts going to break. It just does.

On the other hand, 14K miles on a bike that you're saying was basically "broke all the time" seems suspect.

mapeiboy

I have a Colnago Extreme Power for over 5 years now without any problem so far . The things I have changed are chain every 3000 miles , new front and rear tire at the end of the season . Maybe luck is on my side .

StanSeven

What's funny is most of your problems aren't related to the frame material

DaveWC

So if I'm reading this right people should be wary of these new fangled frames (only carbon of course), bottom brackets, wheels, chain rings, front & rear derailleurs, brakes and cranksets. So long as everything else is good to go that sounds like a plan.

thump55

Bikes are like wives- Don't care how much trouble the new one gives me....I ain't never going back to the old one.

ill.clyde

shh... this isn't the time or place for logic

RIRview

I dunno...I crashed my Trek Madone 5.2 (yup, full-carbon bike) hard enough to crack my helmet, fracture my clavicle and ribs and puncture my lung, but other than a few cosemetic scratches, the bike was good to go when I was ready to resume riding. (And yes, I had my Trek dealer give the bike a thorough inspection).

Just sayin'............

ill.clyde

unpossible!

Seattle Forrest

I thought I was going to agree with a lot of what's in this thread. There's a lot more to riding a road bike than going fast. Bikes are great transportation, they don't piss people off like driving, you get the wind in your face and a view that's not obstructed by walls. It's exercise, it's a great excuse to be outdoors, it's a form of transportation that makes it really easy to talk to people along the way. And it's a hell of a lot of fun to explore new places on a bike. Speed? Meh, it's fun to go fast, but focusing on that one thing to the exclusion of all else is a sad and impoverished way to ride a bike.

But that's not what I found in this thread.

Maybe you just got a lemon. Or have a bad mechanic. Or something. I wore out a cassette and a wheel set, everything else is going strong on my carbon wonder-bike. None of these problems you've described have happened to me, or to anybody else I know. Maybe you're just a real unlucky kind of guy. But it's not widespread.

Clipped_in

OP, you should have gone with the Pinarello Dogma2. ...With carbon rims. It works for Martyn Ashton!

Road Party

Dudelsack 

Diet Coke thru nose onto keyboard. You owe me.

daf1009

I rode a Specialized Tarmac for 3 years...albeit no where near the mileage...I did about 5K...and...I think I had...oh yes...NO issues with it! Of course, I did some normal PM work...replaced the chain, replace the cables, etc...

StanSeven

You're right. I forgot this is the 41