carbon frames

littleknown

well had my first decent spin on my new carbon road bike which i absolutely loved.flew along and really noticed the difference with the carbon which absorbed everything, fantastic, i am however extremely nervous about damaging the bike in any way as my understanding is that even if you take a slight knock e.g let the bike fall against something that its pretty much curtains. is this true? could one dent mean the end?
i dont plan on dropping it or crashing but you never know and after spending a considerable wad of cash this makes me nervous which takes some of the enjoyment away.
apart from that though would recommend carbon to anyone,100 per cent improvement.

Caroline_ie

littleknown wrote: »

i am however extremely nervous about damaging the bike in any way as my understanding is that even if you take a slight knock e.g let the bike fall against something that its pretty much curtains. is this true? could one dent mean the end?
.

I have crashed my bike a dozen times and it's still ok, chipped paint, broken bones, ripped bar tape and scratched saddle, but the frame is still 100%

RobFowl

Crashed a ridley exacalibur badly 2005 still going strong (lost teeth nose and lip in same:eek:). I have a ridley noah as well now but the excalibur is still fine and using it 5 days a week.
Carbon does have the unusual feature in that when it fails it cracks rather than bends so cathastrophic failure is a risk but in my experience (20+ years in clubs and racing) is rare.
Relax and enjoy it , I find carbon so much more comfortable than aluminium and lighter than steel.
Still covet a titanium bike for its fames ride quality though :rolleyes:

scottreynolds

Far from the crashes of my fellow stuntmen here I have fallen off and landed on it (while stationery) just me, bike,concrete and no problem. TBH, I wouldn't worry about crashing it.... at the end of the day no one crashes on purpose (although caroline may have crashed to avoid winter spins) so you can't stop it.

Just ride and enjoy it.... if you crash learn from it. If you break your bike, yes it sucks but just buy another -- you'll find away.

blorg

Carbon is pretty tough stuff, I would not worry overly about it. I would imagine most crashes that would break a carbon frame would write off a metal frame in the same circumstances.

@RobFowl- I have two titanium bikes and while the ride quality is very nice it is no better than a good carbon bike.

paddy's hill

Have a colnago C40 carbon for 9 years and have crashed loads of times, including a few 50kmph in races and the frame is still true. Have had to replace the groupset and bars and stuff but the frame is good for a few years yet. Am only using it as a winter bike now as I bought a new Scott recently.