is a carbon frame a frame for life ?

MungoMan

The bike I use most for long and short spins is a 25 year old Reynolds steel frame bike.
Unless its crashed, it is a frame which will last a lifetime, it's as good as new.

I know it's too early to say if carbon frames can last a lifetime.

Has anybody on this forum had the same carbon bike for say, 10 years ?
Is it still as good as new ? How do they hold up to abuse ? Do they deteriorate with time ?

Icyseanfitz

carbon, steel and titanium are all a life long material so long as they are not crashed and are taken care of properly, problem with carbon is that it can be damaged a lot easier than any of the other materials

victorcarrera

The headset bearing seats/cups on a steel frame can be replaced if they are damaged or worn due to high mileage. Not so with the integrated headset carbon frame, as they are moulded or glued in. I read that some concerns were expressed regarding wear due to the slight movement of the bearings on the seats but I am not aware of this being confirmed on high mileage frames. It may have been scaremongering by the manufacturers of the traditional non integrated type headset.

smush76

As one of the earliest proponents of carbon as a material for bike frames its worth reading what Craig Calfee has to say on the subject. IMO metals (steel,alu, titanium) have a future in bike frame design although that market is becoming ever increasingly specialist, advancement has for some time and will continue to be foremost in composites.
http://www.calfeedesign.com/tech-papers/technical-white-paper/

Peterx

Anyone any idea if and when to retire a carbon frame?

I have an old Trek OLCV 5200 frameset and am beginning to wonder will it eventually collapse under me.
It's been a winter bike, it's crashed, it's been over bog roads and gravel road in races. It works fine.

Lumen

Quigs Snr had his 9 year old Discovery Trek OCLV repainted.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055523055

That was six years ago so it'll be about ready for the Junior Cert by now.

JohnBee

MungoMan wrote: »

The bike I use most for long and short spins is a 25 year old Reynolds steel frame bike.
Unless its crashed, it is a frame which will last a lifetime, it's as good as new.

I know it's too early to say if carbon frames can last a lifetime.

Has anybody on this forum had the same carbon bike for say, 10 years ?
Is it still as good as new ? How do they hold up to abuse ? Do they deteriorate with time ?

Given that x=n+1 where x=the required number of bikes and n=the current number of bikes then clearly x is not equal to n and the answer is ALWAYS NO. No bike is a bike for life

Velominati rule 12.

Chips Lovell

Steel or aluminium will fatigue over time. A carbon frame should last indefinitely.

Alek

Steel or aluminium will fatigue over time. A carbon frame should last indefinitely.

So you say carbon composites are not subject to fatigue? Interesting.

Despite its high initial strength-to-weight ratio, a design limitation of CFRP is its lack of a definable fatigue endurance limit. This means, theoretically, that stress cycle failure cannot be ruled out. While steel and many other structural metals and alloys do have estimable fatigue endurance limits, the complex failure modes of composites mean that the fatigue failure properties of CFRP are difficult to predict and design for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon-fiber-reinforced_polymer

Also, steel fatigue is not an issue in bicycle applications. Corrosion is.

Lumen

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Steel or aluminium will fatigue over time. A carbon frame should last indefinitely.

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/frames-going-soft/

Bicycle Quarterly wrote:

Carbon-fiber components actually do get softer with use. As the component flexes, the internal fibers break free of the surrounding resin and delaminate invisibly. When TOUR magazine tested carbon forks, they found that after 100,000 test cycles, some forks had lost a significant amount of their stiffness. Today, the European Union standards for fatigue resistance specify how much stiffness a carbon component may lose over the test cycle.

lennymc

Im reading that as ' i need a new bike'
Seriously tho, I have 'replaced' my faithful boardman team carbon about 5 or 6 times. I must replace it again soon.

wanderer 22

Lumen wrote: »

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/frames-going-soft/

Still, not many people are going to get 100,000 spins in over a lifetime..even 20,000 or so would be good going

Leroy42

No need to replace it fully, Simply replace the drive-train, then the pedals. New front forks will be required.

Obviously wheels will be upgraded. The handlebars and stem will eventually need to be upgraded/replaced. The saddle will also wear out, which will also require a new seatpost. Bottle cages never last too long really. Then all you have left to do is replace the frame and bham, same bike, good as new!

Of course, once you've done all that you'll need totally new kit as otherwise the colour scheme will be way out.

Probably new computer while you're at it, and water bottles

Alek

Still, not many people are going to get 100,000 spins in over a lifetime

100,000 test cycles is not equal to 100,000 spins. Depending on the test conditions, it may be i.e 100,000 minor potholes, or two years on Irish back roads, whichever comes first.

Peterx

Leroy42 wrote: »

No need to replace it fully, Simply replace the drive-train, then the pedals. New front forks will be required.

Obviously wheels will be upgraded. The handlebars and stem will eventually need to be upgraded/replaced. The saddle will also wear out, which will also require a new seatpost. Bottle cages never last too long really. Then all you have left to do is replace the frame and bham, same bike, good as new!

Of course, once you've done all that you'll need totally new kit as otherwise the colour scheme will be way out.

Probably new computer while you're at it, and water bottles

I have been diligent in my upgrades at the twin altars of marketing and repair, carrying on the good work of the previous owner on that front.
At this stage only the frame and fork are what remains of the original bike and some of the replacement parts are looking weary. Hence my query.

TGD

"is a carbon frame a frame for life ?"

Whatever about the arguments of the longevity of different materials, I'd say "defiantly not" from a practical point of view.

A carbon bike may have a lot of strength with a rider up on it, but accidentally drop it against a lamp-post or something in your garage and it could be the finish of it.

If bikes are used they get knocks and bangs and carbon bikes are not robust if they get knocks and bangs they are not designed to get.

ednwireland

Riding a 6 year old carbon frame. Broken 2 steel frames in 20 years zero aluminium frames (only have one my mtb 20 years old)

OleRodrigo

Carbon frames will reach peak ugliness soon enough.