Alloy or Carbon - What would you do?
Dickie Dirt
Posts: 35
I thought I had just about made my mind up to buy a Giant TCR Comp 1 (2012) or TCR Advanced 2 or 3 (2012), or TCR Advanced 1 (2011) but am having cold feet about carbon frames. I've seen a few photos and the videos on youtube etc but what is the general concensus on carbon?
1. Will it last?
2. What is the failure rate?
3. Do you have to handle it with kid gloves?
4. Seems that even most alloy bikes have carbon forks...
Carbon bikes certainly seem to be increasing in quantity and filtering further down the price line. Would anyone actively avoid carbon in favour of alloy? I'd consider the Giant TCR alloy bikes (prefer the 2010s though and impossible to find) or a Cannondale (though I'm not overly keen on the looks). Canyon? Lower end Cubes (Peleton - though I'd prefer better spec parts than even the high end of those gets). Any other ideas/comments welcome. Budget around £1500 - £2K max
Thanks!
1. Will it last?
2. What is the failure rate?
3. Do you have to handle it with kid gloves?
4. Seems that even most alloy bikes have carbon forks...
Carbon bikes certainly seem to be increasing in quantity and filtering further down the price line. Would anyone actively avoid carbon in favour of alloy? I'd consider the Giant TCR alloy bikes (prefer the 2010s though and impossible to find) or a Cannondale (though I'm not overly keen on the looks). Canyon? Lower end Cubes (Peleton - though I'd prefer better spec parts than even the high end of those gets). Any other ideas/comments welcome. Budget around £1500 - £2K max
Thanks!
0
Posts
Perhaps a bit more susceptible to crash damage than other materials but repairing a carbon frame is easier than repairing alloy to my knowledge.
Don't let youtube videos put you off - I'm sure if you search for broken alloy, steel and even the claimed 'frame for life' titanium, there will be plenty of horror stories around.
1. Will it last? Yes - there are people riding about on 90's carbon frames.
2. What is the failure rate? No idea.
3. Do you have to handle it with kid gloves? No.
4. Seems that even most alloy bikes have carbon forks...because carbon absorbs vibration better than aluminium or steel.
There must be literally hundreds of threads on BR forums about this topic so have a search.
This thread will now kick off the usual arguments of my frame is better than yours and you’ll die if you ride carbon and it’ll melt...
So, coming back to road bikes after an absence of perhaps 8 years and never having used clipless pedals, I won't wreck a carbon bike when I fail to unclip and fall off unceremoniously at the first junction!
No guarantees there of course but it's usually the body that hits the deck first, with the bike often protected, although components like shifters and rear mechs, wheel skewers etc can suffer cosmetic (and even greater) damage
Our club chairman rides an old Look and he’s had two crashes involving cars and one last summer when my mate decided to cycle into a bush while in the bunch (tw4t). Both he and the bike are still going strong.
You might wreck a carbon bike if you fall off and a car runs over it !! But then this would equally apply to whatever the bike was made from. (i am sure you will be fine using clipless pedals - just have a bit of practice leaning against a wall to get the hang of it and I always unclip the same side everytime just for habit).
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/243 ... 8d.jpg?v=0
http://img362.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 076tl5.jpg
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3407 ... e001af.jpg
http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/bikes-c5/road-bikes-c18/cannondale-synapse-carbon-hi-mod-ultegra-road-bike-2012-p209147#281134
Nice bike but I'm 6'1 so too small....
Can you back that up with any actual facts (strength of material / failure rates etc)? I'm not a materials expert but I would not ride an alu frame that had received the kind of damage you state would write off a carbon frame. Why would a dented alu frame not be likely to further fail?
Again I'm not an expert at all, but aren't alu frames not particularly easy to repair either? Someone on here will know, undoubtedly.
You are correct about the type of damage likely to fail a carbon frame - you are likely to need a direct impact on something very hard, such as a curb or wall. I don't think these types of impact are likely, far more likely to crash on flatter roads unless commuting perhaps. I've had several spills over the years and it's always been saddles, bars and pedals etc that bare the brunt of the impact.
Bollox basically, unlikely to 'pierce' a frame in a crash but if you did then it wouldn't matter what material the bike was made of, the force needed would require a repair. If it's carbon then the repair is usually pretty good, Ti isn't too bad either, a new section can be fitted and then polished to a reasonable finish. Steel and Ali' would both require a respray after repair of any sort so the cost escalates.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/243 ... 8d.jpg?v=0
http://img362.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 076tl5.jpg
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3407 ... e001af.jpg
Raleigh SP Race
Trek 1.2
Raleigh SP Race
Trek 1.2
You would think it would be best to get a Carbon one for winter as Carbon doesn't corrode with the weather/elements. Which then negates the reason to get an Alloy bike and then you can spend more on you carbon bike.
People don't seem to get this!
Yes, but it isn't so much about the frame corrosion as the deterioration of the components. The only reason that alloy frames are recommended for winter use is that they are cheaper. The correct answer is just to have lots of bikes so you have one for each particular circumstance.
If people want two bikes, thats fair enough, but excuses like this just dont make sense.
He actually rides the alloy the most and says there is little day to day difference.
(apart from the colgano ti, which flexed so much the chain would come off when pushing hard)
Personally i like how carbon forks absorb vibrations and make for a smoother ride over long distances on good roads.
If you ride over harsh roads it is going to be bumpy no matter what you are on.
A reassuring video, nice find.