Addiction XXXVII
07-28-14, 08:04 PM
#5428
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Ride what you want, bro, I can't be bothered arguing about this stuff all night. 
To each his own.
To each his own.
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07-28-14, 08:07 PM
#5429
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This has been the best summer ever! Not too hot with cool nights, great for sleeping with the windows open. Outstanding!
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See, this is why we can't have nice things. - - smarkinson
Where else but the internet can a bunch of cyclists go and be the tough guy? - - jdon
07-28-14, 08:07 PM
#5430
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Pretty much. Lots of FUD. The most credible person that they quote, a guy from Canyon, is essentially pitching his company: touting their exacting precision, the hands-on nature of production, rigorous testing, etc, etc and the author frames it as if the guy meticulous because of the volatile nature of CF, rather than acknowledging that it's a sales spiel.
07-28-14, 08:09 PM
#5431
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07-28-14, 08:13 PM
#5432
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07-28-14, 08:13 PM
#5433
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07-28-14, 08:15 PM
#5434
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07-28-14, 08:21 PM
#5435
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But the author didn't make that stuff up, he spoke to professional riders, PROFESSIONALS, just the people some CF guys idolize. And he spoke to industry experts, too.
*I'm* not making this stuff up, and it appears to me, and any other objective reader, the author isn't either.
Listen, I'll be the first to admit I'm not objective. You couldn't GIVE me a CF bike, I'll take steel or Ti thankyouverymuch! But I didn't write the article, somebody else did, and it sounds pretty objective to me. What part is giving you guys so much problems? What part are we supposed to ignore, that on those rare occasions when it fails that it shatters without warning? Ok, I'll ignore that part, but can *you*? No skin off my shin, I don't ride them.
*I'm* not making this stuff up, and it appears to me, and any other objective reader, the author isn't either.
Listen, I'll be the first to admit I'm not objective. You couldn't GIVE me a CF bike, I'll take steel or Ti thankyouverymuch! But I didn't write the article, somebody else did, and it sounds pretty objective to me. What part is giving you guys so much problems? What part are we supposed to ignore, that on those rare occasions when it fails that it shatters without warning? Ok, I'll ignore that part, but can *you*? No skin off my shin, I don't ride them.
Author: "But there has been a catch. Unlike steel or aluminum, carbon fiber does not bend in crashes. Rather the bikes and wheels frequently shatter, often hurling riders to the road and, many fear, increasing the severity of injuries."
To back this up he quotes a physician in sports medicine who says this: "Anyone in a team who’s being honest with you will tell you how frequently their bikes are breaking; everybody knows,” and "Few people in the public appreciate how many bikes a pro team will go through in a season, because they break for one reason or another. The bikes, they completely explode.”
Note that what the doctor says has nothing to do with the author's assertion that carbon causes more injuries. If the author did have someone "in the know" to support that claim, why didn't he supply the quote?
Here's another one:
Author: "While steel and aluminum bikes generally telegraph an impending failure by displaying cracks, carbon fiber generally fails without warning. " ZOMG! Spontaneous asplsion!
Actual quote from materials scientist: "[Carbon fiber] fractures into many pieces while metals bend, the energy absorption is the bending.”
Note, he doesn't say anything about spontaneous asplosion. He just talks about carbon's well understood failure mode.
In fact, what the actual quotes are saying is not at all surprising when examined outside the author's breathless fear mongering. Ultra-light carbon bikes break when they are crashed. This isn't news. Do you really think that steel, Ti or aluminum would fare any better when engineered to their very limits of strength to weight? Carbon, at least, is cheaper to repair.
The author of the article appears to be attempting to support the "spontaneous asplosion" thesis. After all, scaring people is a great way to get attention. By that standard, the article is a great success. The trouble is, he doesn't appear to have anything to support that idea.
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07-28-14, 08:22 PM
#5436
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^^^ You're just not objective enough and you have poor comprehension.
07-28-14, 08:28 PM
#5437
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Not: life is too short to post.
07-28-14, 08:32 PM
#5439
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07-28-14, 08:36 PM
#5440
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...for myself, besides the obvious fact that any racing for me is way back in the dimmest recesses of
my selective memory (where I was both fast and sweet
), it's the nature of the material that makes
it very hard to spot a problem that might be progressing (like a ding becoming a crack becoming a face plant),
and the by now obvious instantaneous failure mode.
I just don't got the cajones for that much excitement in my life any more.
my selective memory (where I was both fast and sweet
), it's the nature of the material that makesit very hard to spot a problem that might be progressing (like a ding becoming a crack becoming a face plant),
and the by now obvious instantaneous failure mode.
I just don't got the cajones for that much excitement in my life any more.
07-28-14, 08:37 PM
#5441
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07-28-14, 08:45 PM
#5443
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This is exactly what's going on in that thread, and to be honest, yes, it was comforting to read confirmation of what I have felt strongly about for a long time. But on the other hand it is hilarious to witness the extent to which the extremists in that thread are frantically trying to discredit the article . . . by any means necessary. They've been sweeping the truth under the rug for so long, that to have it exposed in public for the whole world to see is just driving them bat-**** crazy. "The sky is falling, the sky is falling"!
As I said in the thread, "Take it easy, nobody is trying to take away your CF bikes, you can ride whatever you want. It's your decision, you're big boys now".
As I said in the thread, "Take it easy, nobody is trying to take away your CF bikes, you can ride whatever you want. It's your decision, you're big boys now".
07-28-14, 08:47 PM
#5444
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07-28-14, 08:47 PM
#5445
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07-28-14, 08:47 PM
#5446
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Good question. 
But, moving right along . . . .
But, moving right along . . . .
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Where else but the internet can a bunch of cyclists go and be the tough guy? - - jdon
07-28-14, 08:51 PM
#5447
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But the author didn't make that stuff up, he spoke to professional riders, PROFESSIONALS, just the people some CF guys idolize. And he spoke to industry experts, too.
*I'm* not making this stuff up, and it appears to me, and any other objective reader, the author isn't either.
Listen, I'll be the first to admit I'm not objective. You couldn't GIVE me a CF bike, I'll take steel or Ti thankyouverymuch! But I didn't write the article, somebody else did, and it sounds pretty objective to me. What part is giving you guys so much problems? What part are we supposed to ignore, that on those rare occasions when it fails that it shatters without warning? Ok, I'll ignore that part, but can *you*? No skin off my shin, I don't ride them.
*I'm* not making this stuff up, and it appears to me, and any other objective reader, the author isn't either.
Listen, I'll be the first to admit I'm not objective. You couldn't GIVE me a CF bike, I'll take steel or Ti thankyouverymuch! But I didn't write the article, somebody else did, and it sounds pretty objective to me. What part is giving you guys so much problems? What part are we supposed to ignore, that on those rare occasions when it fails that it shatters without warning? Ok, I'll ignore that part, but can *you*? No skin off my shin, I don't ride them.
Another bothersome aspect is the "industry insider" saying that not all CF bike quality control may be up to snuff as compared to the jetliner industry. Maybe so, but that casts no automatic doubts about the quality of the bikes. And doing business with those folks who do their job best has always been the smart thing to do.
Actually the consumer has no reason to be concerned about quality control. The consumer needs to be concerned about quality assurance which is a very different thing. Why was that point not made?
But, talking about CF bikes spontaneously asploding willy-nilly when no one we know has ever seen it happen just rings false. Where were the examples of who it has happened to and what were the outcomes of the episodes. If CF bikes don't cause crashes to happen, then they can't be blamed for whatever injury occurs. Even supposing fewer CF bikes would survive said crashes that they didn't cause than metal bikes, that is not a safety issue. It is purely economic. I don't believe it is true, but saying it is for the moment, one might avoid CF bikes because he can't afford to replace it, but not because he is afraid of it causing him physical harm.
I will say it again, where are all the examples of these failures?
07-28-14, 08:53 PM
#5449
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07-28-14, 08:54 PM
#5450
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