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Carbon Frame Bike

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Old 02-05-15 | 10:14 AM
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Carbon Frame Bike

I was planning to get an aluminum bike frame but the shop had this bike on sale:
Radon Spire 7.0 | Road Bike Carbon Shop

The one on sale is 25% cheaper(1500 Euro) because it's last year's model which is the same
with a different color.
I'm just concerned when it comes to carbon frames because I always think that if you crash or fall down with it, you
never know if the frame will break.

Then again, 1500 Euro seems like a really good deal for that bike.

Any thoughts?
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Old 02-05-15 | 10:20 AM
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Bikes: Pinarello Dogma F8, Pinarello Bolide, Argon 18 E-118, Bianchi Oltre, Cervelo S1, Wilier Pista

Well, as someone who has crashed several times on a carbon frame, I can tell you for sure that they aren't so brittle that they are just going to break into a thousand pieces upon contact with asphalt. Carbon is pretty strong material, otherwise they wouldn't use it at all. It can be damaged, just as a frame of any other material can be damaged. It can also be repaired. There were some problems with early carbon frames which were responsible for a lot of the myths that are perpetuated today. Today's carbon frames are much better than the frames of 15 years ago. If you want it, buy it.
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Old 02-05-15 | 10:53 AM
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Does it come with the full Ultegra group as pictured? I say go for it if you have the money.

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Old 02-05-15 | 11:00 AM
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My argument about how fragile carbon is: they make cyclocross and mountain bikes out of carbon. Those get ridden hard, dropped and crashed without exploding
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Old 02-05-15 | 11:02 AM
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Yeah, that's what's so tempting. A carbon frame bike with the full Ultegra group for 1500 Euro is a pretty good deal.
@K.Katso and rms13: Thanks for the info. Good points and good to know.
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Old 02-05-15 | 12:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Eljot
Yeah, that's what's so tempting. A carbon frame bike with the full Ultegra group for 1500 Euro is a pretty good deal.
@K.Katso and rms13: Thanks for the info. Good points and good to know.
No worries - now here's the next tip, for when you get upgrade fever:

superlight-bikeparts

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Old 02-06-15 | 03:52 AM
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Everyone still concerned with the "brittleness" of carbon needs to watch this video:


Wait for the part where they bash the frame against the corner of a concrete block
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Old 02-06-15 | 05:14 AM
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Busted Carbon
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Old 02-06-15 | 03:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Lazyass

Nobody is denying frames can fail. But aluminum fails too. There is also no back stories on most of the pictures of failed carbon frames so without context it's meaningless. I know hundreds of cyclists and probably 90% are on carbon these days. I don't personally know one person who's carbon frame has failed unless if involved a high speed crash/getting hit by a car
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Old 02-06-15 | 03:42 PM
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More important than the material is the fit - if the aluminum bike fits better than the carbon one then it is the better bike for you. If they fit essentially the same then that carbon bike looks pretty nice.
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Old 02-06-15 | 07:14 PM
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Carbon fiber is strong is one direction, or more, depending on how its laid up, but it isnt uniform like aluminum, so depending on how the frame is hit, it can either withstand huge amounts of force (when its hit the right way), or it can break without too much effort (when its hit the wrong way).

carbon is also easier to repair, i have seen DIY fixes on carbon frames that worked quite well, just some sheets of carbon and epoxy.
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Old 02-07-15 | 03:29 AM
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Thanks for the replies.
Can anyone tell me if apart from the carbon frame the bike I mentioned seems like a good bike
judging by the bike geometry and the components? Radon Spire 7.0 | Road Bike Carbon Shop
The aluminum version I was aiming for is totally identical when it comes to geometry and components.
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Old 02-08-15 | 01:13 AM
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I have two more Canyon Models.

Here's a Canyon with a carbon frame but Shimano 105: https://www.canyon.com/en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3680
The other one has Ultegra but an aluminum frame: https://www.canyon.com/en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3576

I prefer Ultegra but then again I think 105 isn't really much different these days.
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