Alu/carbon vs Carbon

Cabelly
Cabelly Posts: 43
edited April 2009 in Road buying advice
I am considering two......now don't laugh too hard.......Raleigh bikes. One is the 2008 Airlite Carbon Comp, carbon frame, tiagra groupset and the other is the 2008 U6 Race which has carbon rear and forks with Ultegra groupset. Both costing about £800.

Would it be better to go for the full carbon with option of upgrading later or forget both and go for something else.

I already have a Raleigh (13yrs) which is why these choices and they look good
:?

Cheers Steve

Comments

  • paulieb2006
    paulieb2006 Posts: 318
    I have a BH GC2 which is Alu with Carbon forks and back section. Couldnt afford the full carbon frame at the time but have been tempted since. Dont know if it is worth it though so will be interested to see what the other guys think. Nothing wrong with frame but I still cant figure out why its half and half.
    http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab26 ... C05883.jpg
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    You pay more for carbon but it's rarely that much better.
    I like bikes...

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  • blorg
    blorg Posts: 1,169
    redddraggon wrote:
    You pay more for carbon but it's rarely that much better.
    I would tend to disagree with that, I went from a Trek aluminum bike to Trek carbon with the same geometry and while the aluminum was just as stiff the carbon was a hell of a lot more comfortable. A price premium of a few hundred for a full carbon frame is, in my opinon, worth it.
  • System_1
    System_1 Posts: 513
    blorg wrote:
    redddraggon wrote:
    You pay more for carbon but it's rarely that much better.
    I would tend to disagree with that, I went from a Trek aluminum bike to Trek carbon with the same geometry and while the aluminum was just as stiff the carbon was a hell of a lot more comfortable. A price premium of a few hundred for a full carbon frame is, in my opinon, worth it.

    Well, just to be argumentative, I'd disagree with that. :D

    I didn't get on with my carbon frame (too 'soft' and 'whippy') and replaced it with an aluminium one with a carbon rear end a couple of years ago. The alu one is lighter, stiffer and is very nearly just as comfortable as the carbon frame it replaced. It was half the price too.

    I guess the answer is, it depends. You can't judge how good a bike will be simply from the material it's made from. Carbon isn't some wonder material that guarantees the perfect bike. The process involved in its manufacture, ie the way the carbon is layed up, tube diameter, geometry, and most importantly how well it fits, play a part too. Any bike, no matter what it's made from, can be made to fulfil the stiff, light, comfortable and affordable criteria. Carbon may be the material of choice in the quest to fulfill all 4 criteria, but there's no guarantee you'll get it, especially at the cheaper end of the market.

    :oops: Sorry, that's not helped has it?

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