Is carbon fibre frame just a gimmick?

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  • darkhairedlord
    darkhairedlord Posts: 7,180
    madasahattersley wrote:
    Monty Dog wrote:
    madasahattersley wrote:
    V. Interesting. Only problem is there are still lots of scenarios when carbon would break and alu wouldn't or would just dent but be rideable. I still think good carbon is still the best material for 80% of riders.

    Care to try this with your aluminium frame and share the results?

    http://www.frequency.com/video/cannonda ... r/38142622

    Unfortunately whacking it with a hammer isn't all that good a representation of what happens during a crash. Also, I've only got a carbon and a steel at this moment in time so I'll have to pass :wink:

    and when you see the aluminium frame you know it has exceeded its yield strength. When the Carbon frame takes a hit you have no idea whether there is a structural failure. Sure, the last couple of hits you can see the damage but what about the first few?
  • Jules Winnfield
    Jules Winnfield Posts: 299
    mattrixdesign2 wrote:
    It won't make you faster, or climb hills quicker... infact one of the joys of "cheap" alu is keeping up and/or going past the carbon bikes :mrgreen:

    I've done that on a club run before...... Thing is you then have to wait at the top of the hill for 2 minutes for the slightly overweight rider with the weak cardiovascular system, sat astride the 1.5k flash carbon bike to catch up.
    Ribble Ultralite Racing 7005, Campagnolo Veloce groupset, Campagnolo Khamsin G3 wheel set
  • e999sam
    e999sam Posts: 426
    Here's what Mike Burrows has to say about frame material.
    http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... ial-39324/
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    darkhairedlord wrote:
    madasahattersley wrote:
    Monty Dog wrote:
    madasahattersley wrote:
    V. Interesting. Only problem is there are still lots of scenarios when carbon would break and alu wouldn't or would just dent but be rideable. I still think good carbon is still the best material for 80% of riders.

    Care to try this with your aluminium frame and share the results?

    http://www.frequency.com/video/cannonda ... r/38142622

    Unfortunately whacking it with a hammer isn't all that good a representation of what happens during a crash. Also, I've only got a carbon and a steel at this moment in time so I'll have to pass :wink:

    and when you see the aluminium frame you know it has exceeded its yield strength. When the Carbon frame takes a hit you have no idea whether there is a structural failure. Sure, the last couple of hits you can see the damage but what about the first few?
    Yep, when I see guys doing that sort of stuff and calling it "testing" it doesn't inspire confidence. It just makes me hope these guys are from the marketing side of the company and not the engineering group.

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