Workstand/carbon

Supergoose
Supergoose Posts: 1,089
edited November 2008 in Workshop
Can I safely clamp my carbon bike in my workstand, and for that matter on my car in my roof mounted bike carrier?

I am fairly paranoid about carbon. i managed to burst my seat pin by over tightening it; expensive mistake. :oops:
Rock 'n' Roule

Comments

  • nferrar
    nferrar Posts: 2,511
    You shouldn't clamp carbon in a workstand, just buy a cheap seatpost (I'm lazy but even I manage to swap it in whenever I work on my carbon bike). Not sure about roof mounting, I guess the wheels are still taking the weight of the bike so you might get away with only gently doing up clamps (presumably on the down tube?) for the added stability rather than it bearing the weight of the bike.
  • Supergoose
    Supergoose Posts: 1,089
    nferrar wrote:
    You shouldn't clamp carbon in a workstand, just buy a cheap seatpost (I'm lazy but even I manage to swap it in whenever I work on my carbon bike). Not sure about roof mounting, I guess the wheels are still taking the weight of the bike so you might get away with only gently doing up clamps (presumably on the down tube?) for the added stability rather than it bearing the weight of the bike.

    Cheers for that :) . *goes off to look for cheap seat pin on flea bay*
    Rock 'n' Roule
  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    Not a problem at all clamping a carbon seatpin - that's what I've done for years. Just don't overtighten the clamp on the workstand on it. I wouldn't clamp carbon tubes on the bike (though neither would I clamp thin walled alu), but a seatpost is designed to be clamped so will be fine. Can't imagine why you'd want to go through the hassle of swapping seatposts to work on your bike!
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    agree with aracer - just don't overtighten it!

    I often use the seattube too - to get the frame a little higher - I mean, how tight are you doing these things up? - this is on an S-works roubaix carbon frame - no problems at all.

    I usually trap a soft microfibre cloth between rubber grips and the frame to prevent any scratching.
  • Supergoose
    Supergoose Posts: 1,089
    Cheers for the feedback.

    Does the same go for transporting a carbon bike on a car carrier. Dont over tighten/ microfibre cloth? I do this with my aluminium bikes but I am paranoid about the carbon one. :)
    Rock 'n' Roule
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    again - I use a roof carrier which 'clamps' to the downtube with my roubaix.

    I cable tie the wheels to the base so the bike isn;t going anywhere - it's not going to roll off the roof or anything - then all the downtube does is stop the bike falling over. I put a layer of bubble-wrap on the downtube when using the roof carrier and then tighten until the bike doesn't move - the bubble wrap is compressed lightly against the tube - the bike doesn't move at all.

    I have to say though - my S-Works roubaix frame weighs about 1050g and you cannot squeeze the tubes at all - no deformation. I am aware that some of the ultra-light carbon frames (scott addict, some of the Kuota's for example) have squeezy tubes - that is , they deform if you squeeze your thumb into them - I'm not sure i'd use the same clamps on those frames.
  • Supergoose
    Supergoose Posts: 1,089
    Nice one, thanks
    Rock 'n' Roule

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