What carbon road bike?

Chris James

Escargot,

It is interesting that, despite stating your expertise lies in the field of stress analysis, not materials, you refuse to accept that I might be correct in my specialist subject. Incidentally, my thesis was on localised corrosion in chloride rich environments.

Through the wonders of internet, you can actually find it online if you are interested. It looks like no-one else has been, from what i can gather, there have been no no loans in 15 years!

keef66

My mtb is now 11 years old and the original rim braked alu wheels were still going strong despite frequent bathing in salty, gritty water, and infrequent washing, when they finally disapeared overnight. I suspect thieves rather than corrosion.
Ditto brake calipers, levers, bars, stem, cranks, derailleurs etc etc. No corrosion of any alloy component.

The only things showing the odd spot of rust are various steel bolts and the spd mechanism on the pedals.

Road bike after a very salty winter is in similarly pristine condition.

I have experienced creeping corrosion of alloy wheels on my last two cars; the finish appeared to be some kind of lacquer, and once chipped, rapid crystalline corrosion started burrowing beneath the lacquer.

Chris James

keef66 wrote:

My mtb is now 11 years old and the original rim braked alu wheels were still going strong despite frequent bathing in salty, gritty water, and infrequent washing, when they finally disapeared overnight. I suspect thieves rather than corrosion.
Ditto brake calipers, levers, bars, stem, cranks, derailleurs etc etc. No corrosion of any alloy component.

The only things showing the odd spot of rust are various steel bolts and the spd mechanism on the pedals.

Road bike after a very salty winter is in similarly pristine condition.

I have experienced creeping corrosion of alloy wheels on my last two cars; the finish appeared to be some kind of lacquer, and once chipped, rapid crystalline corrosion started burrowing beneath the lacquer.

Do you wash your bike often? As long as the salt is washed off, and not allowed to concentrate up it will be fine.

To be honest, aluminium alloys are about as good as it gets anyway. It is just that they are not impervious to salt. Far from it.

redddraggon

Chris James wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

Chris James wrote:

I have an MSc in Corrosion Science and Engineering from UMIST and have worked in the aerospace industry since 1994.

Was David Scantlebury there then?

Yes, he was. Were you at UMIST?

It's a fair while ago, but David Scantlebury did cathodic protection classes. My tutor was Prof Newman. Stuart Lyons and his girlfriend (forgotten her name, Irish) were also lecturers.

It long ago ceased to be called UMIST. I'm still here though (for my 5th year)

blorg

Tacx Boy wrote:

Of those three the Focus is a million miles ahead. My views on Planet-X have been well-aired on another thread. Raleigh use generic Asian frames that are painted up in Raleigh colours. At that price point there are plenty of others. Do you want a complete bike or are you getting frame and forks and speccing it yourself?

I would disagree with this, the PX and the Focus are comparable bikes. I have owned both the Focus Cayo and the Planet X Road Carbon. I can't speak for the Raleigh but as far as I know it is designed by Avanti who have a good reputation (they also designed bikes for Focus BTW).

The Planet X is a substantially lighter frame and to me feels stiffer to ride in terms of power transfer while not compromising comfort. The fork on the PX has a carbon steerer which further helps with the weight, the Cayo is alloy.

It is also higher specced for the money than the Cayo, although if you can get something in Wiggle's sale this might not be quite as significant.

This is not to put down the Cayo, it is a great bike too. It was better value last year before they put the prices up/downgraded the entry level one from Ultegra SL to 105. The Cayo is only a slightly compact geometry so if this is what you prefer aesthetically go for it.

@OP- I do not have one but I do not think you will be disappointed with your Felt either, I have friends very happy with them. I have bought three bikes from Wiggle; their service was excellent and the bikes came absolutely perfectly set up, it is worth the couple of days wait.

Escargot

Chris James wrote:

Escargot,

It is interesting that, despite stating your expertise lies in the field of stress analysis, not materials, you refuse to accept that I might be correct in my specialist subject. Incidentally, my thesis was on localised corrosion in chloride rich environments.

Through the wonders of internet, you can actually find it online if you are interested. It looks like no-one else has been, from what i can gather, there have been no no loans in 15 years!

Ok, I concede. You’re right. I take your word for it that aluminium is subject to localised corrosion in chloride rich environments

However, at the expense of repeating myself, there's a world of difference between theory/research and what is likely to happen in reality. I realise this must sound outrageous to you but I stand by my original comment about why we should be worried about aluminium components in winter. Unfortunately you are stuck behind your thesis and are unable to accept the fact that either our roads don’t represent a chloride rich environment or that aluminium is more robust than it was in 1994.

Again, my original comment was blasé as it suggested that aluminium was impervious to everything but my, keef66’s and Kingrollo’s bikes are physical evidence of negligible grit damage and we’ve all claimed a distinct lack of regular washing (of the bikes that is).

For sure I’m not suggesting that we completely neglect the very theory we apply every day but if you would care to step out of the academic bubble and give me some real world examples of worrying grit corrosion on bike components then I’ll accept that I’m talking even more bollox than usual

Chris James

redddraggon wrote:

It long ago ceased to be called UMIST. I'm still here though (for my 5th year)

The Corrosion and Protection Centre? Margaret Stack was the name I was struggling for before.

Chris James

Escargot wrote:

Again, my original comment was blasé as it suggested that aluminium was impervious to everything but my, keef66’s and Kingrollo’s bikes are physical evidence of negligible grit damage and we’ve all claimed a distinct lack of regular washing (of the bikes that is).

For sure I’m not suggesting that we completely neglect the very theory we apply every day but if you would care to step out of the academic bubble and give me some real world examples of worrying grit corrosion on bike components then I’ll accept that I’m talking even more bollox than usual

Escargot, generations of cyclists have bought winter bikes for a reason. I have given you the science behind it but the real world evidence is available for anyone to see.

I don't know where you are based. Maybe it's down south and they don't grit the roads much? I live 200m above sea level and they grit heavily for about five months a year. When I used to live in Weston-super-Mare and you barely ever got a frost, never mind gritting the roads.

Road grit damages the drive chain from corrosion (salt) and erosion (grit in road salt on rims and chains). If you have good quality, expensive, components you would be mad to submit them to that wear and tear.

Having said that, the Sora components you talked about are the sort of thing that many people run on winter bikes - i.e. hefty and cheap to replace.

Brocade

Rick Draper wrote:

I have a budget of around £1700 to buy myself a carbon road bike. I have been looking at the following brands, planet-x, focus and raleigh. Can anyone advise me where they would be spending there money and why on that brand?

Why not consider a Specialized Roubaix Elite ? £1699 at Evans. It's carbon. Supposed to be a really smooth ride. Feels like this is the most easy bike to use of all the high end bikes out there, with the longer wheelbase, slightly higher handlebars, and those Zertz insets in the forks and saddlepost.

redddraggon

Chris James wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

It long ago ceased to be called UMIST. I'm still here though (for my 5th year)

The Corrosion and Protection Centre? Margaret Stack was the name I was struggling for before.

I'm in the School of Materials, which Corrosion is part of

Dick Scruttock

Well i got my Felt F3 SL last week but due to a cold i have been giving biking a miss. Changed the chainset in the meantime for a compact setup and just really got it 100% ready to ride. Still need to fettle the front mech and shifter settings but will post in workshop and mech for that.

First ride today, all i can say is road biking is totally different to what i had thought. Had a 25 mile ride but stuck to main roads and thought it was pretty good.

On the bike side it proved comfy, size seems spot on and its incredibly stiff. Felt a little discomfort in my shoulders but i put this down to the riding position been so different to that of a mtb. Also my plumbs went pretty numb :roll:

Dick Scruttock

juankerr

You need to get that spoke protector off or all the cool kids will laugh at you.

neilr4

Having initially opened this thread to read about carbon frames/bikes I am somewhat disappointed to see this thread hijacked by so called macho-experts from the aviation industry flexing their knowledge muscles about their various fields of expertise which at the end of the day is fairly irrelevant to the vast majority of bike enthusiasts who log in to this forum.

I myself (not being macho here) work in the aviation industry and I find the level of immaturity quite worrying and not the comment made initially by escargot who got berated for not aiming his comments at experts in aero grade alloys.

I am extremely proud of my work as are many of my colleagues and I'm honoured to be working in such an industry which I see as a passion and I find it quite disturbing when I come across idiots who sound like 5 year olds in the school playground boasting about who can run fastest!

Come on lads 'GROW UP'!!

Brocade

Actually, I thought this was one of the most interesting threads I've come across in a long time on biking... this is what makes the internet and this forum so great: bringing out perspectives and information which would otherwise be out of reach.

As for the thread veering off course, what a fantastic outcome ! It's bringing into the picture issues one never would have thought of. So what if it's irrelevant. The uninterested can just click away. The interested can come out enlightened. It's a cool outcome. Such detours should be encouraged, not shunned.

Aviation experts, motorheads, mechanical engineers, chemical engineers plug away I would say. If some good ole schoolyards antics are needed to get the juices flowing and more importantly, to get people involved, all the better !

gregster10217

Im not wealthy enough to be able to have a winter bike, so will be using my only bike for winter rides as well. It's a Boardman Team Carbon so won't have to worry about frame corrosion, but as for the mechs etc, how do people clean them? Pressure washer, hose, hand or specific spray cleaner and lube? I'm just getting back into cycling and don't have that much technical knowledge yet, but do you take the mechs, cassette off periodically to give them a proper clean? Just want to make sure I keep my bike in tip top condition.
PS Sorry to hijack the post, but seems an appropriate place to post with all the discussion about corrosion!!!
Thanks

sampras38

kingrollo wrote:

Planet x - always seem good value, without the delay problems at Ribble - although that may be better now we are outside the summer peak.

Those seem the value for money options.

Boardman - always get good reviews

Cannondales - seems to be good deals at the moment

Kuota Kharma, - what I brought !! - Im certainly pleased with it.

Cannondales - seems to be good deals at the moment

The giant TCR (i think) won a couple of bike of the year awards

then theres Specialized and Trek.

I doubt any are bad bikes, its all about whats important to you. I sacrificed a bit of weight, for a bit of bling ! for example.

If it helps, a friend who has owned many nice bikes over the years has recently bought a Giant TCR SL and loves it.

Escargot

neilr4 wrote:

Having initially opened this thread to read about carbon frames/bikes I am somewhat disappointed to see this thread hijacked by so called macho-experts from the aviation industry flexing their knowledge muscles about their various fields of expertise which at the end of the day is fairly irrelevant to the vast majority of bike enthusiasts who log in to this forum.

I myself (not being macho here) work in the aviation industry and I find the level of immaturity quite worrying and not the comment made initially by escargot who got berated for not aiming his comments at experts in aero grade alloys.

I am extremely proud of my work as are many of my colleagues and I'm honoured to be working in such an industry which I see as a passion and I find it quite disturbing when I come across idiots who sound like 5 year olds in the school playground boasting about who can run fastest!

Come on lads 'GROW UP'!!

Neilr4

I'm sorry you feel that way so apologise for, a) hijacking the thread and b) for the 'dick waving' that ensued. If you knew me you'd probably find that I'm quite a modest chap (really ) so all this 'dick waving' is uncharacteristic as I'm not normally interested in being an internet warrior. However, when backed into a corner and all that ....... :oops:

Ultimately it was not my intention to start what would turn out to be a touchy subject but originally posted my comment as I didn't think running a decent bike during winter would be a problem. I hope it was not an entirely irrelevant discussion as grit/group sets is something people worry about - hence why someone questioned buying such an expensive bike just before winter.

I hope you can appreciate that there is a lot of BS attached to cycling (some clearly posted by myself) so believe it is useful if people that are more "in the know" offer their opinions (I've learnt a fair bit from other knowlegable souls on here). I'm no expert by any stretch but still think running an expensive bike over winter is fine so hope Rick Draper doesn't shy away from the road when it starts getting really cold (nice bike btw ). Sadly I only have one bike so it will be on the road regardless.

Incidentally I have been sad enough to have run a corrosion experiment this week with surprising results. It's easily done on a piece of bare alu and some grit from the car park grit bin so would recommend that anyone give it a go. Hopefully I won't be on here crying about my Ultegra SL group set in Feb 2010 .

neilr4

Escargot wrote:

neilr4 wrote:

Having initially opened this thread to read about carbon frames/bikes I am somewhat disappointed to see this thread hijacked by so called macho-experts from the aviation industry flexing their knowledge muscles about their various fields of expertise which at the end of the day is fairly irrelevant to the vast majority of bike enthusiasts who log in to this forum.

I myself (not being macho here) work in the aviation industry and I find the level of immaturity quite worrying and not the comment made initially by escargot who got berated for not aiming his comments at experts in aero grade alloys.

I am extremely proud of my work as are many of my colleagues and I'm honoured to be working in such an industry which I see as a passion and I find it quite disturbing when I come across idiots who sound like 5 year olds in the school playground boasting about who can run fastest!

Come on lads 'GROW UP'!!

Neilr4

I'm sorry you feel that way so apologise for, a) hijacking the thread and b) for the 'dick waving' that ensued. If you knew me you'd probably find that I'm quite a modest chap (really ) so all this 'dick waving' is uncharacteristic as I'm not normally interested in being an internet warrior. However, when backed into a corner and all that ....... :oops:

Ultimately it was not my intention to start what would turn out to be a touchy subject but originally posted my comment as I didn't think running a decent bike during winter would be a problem. I hope it was not an entirely irrelevant discussion as grit/group sets is something people worry about - hence why someone questioned buying such an expensive bike just before winter.

I hope you can appreciate that there is a lot of BS attached to cycling (some clearly posted by myself) so believe it is useful if people that are more "in the know" offer their opinions (I've learnt a fair bit from other knowlegable souls on here). I'm no expert by any stretch but still think running an expensive bike over winter is fine so hope Rick Draper doesn't shy away from the road when it starts getting really cold (nice bike btw ). Sadly I only have one bike so it will be on the road regardless.

Incidentally I have been sad enough to have run a corrosion experiment this week with surprising results. It's easily done on a piece of bare alu and some grit from the car park grit bin so would recommend that anyone give it a go. Hopefully I won't be on here crying about my Ultegra SL group set in Feb 2010 .

My apologies to you escargot I've sent you a PM!

Neil.

Aggieboy

"Rust never sleeps"

Neil (Young)