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Carbon Fibre - Outside Online Article

cantunamunch

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In other news...pun intended?
Screenshot_20200509-163657.jpg


And yes, the question very much belongs here, considering both Time bicycles' frame material of choice, and lemonds oak ridge and Australian agreements.
 
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cantunamunch

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NCapture.JPG


At this point pretty much any LeMond bikes are bikes we didn't expect. Not at all comfortable with the whole concept of LeMond as a 'lifestyle' brand.
 

oldschoolskier

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37 years ago I had the chance to shot a 85lb compound bow with carbon fiber arrows (this is the early days of CF).

Amazingly shot through cement blocks, however the slightest scratch caused arrow explosion (extreme injury for the shooter). Fibreglass arrows very rarely suffered this type of failure, even with damage. I was lucky enough to never experience this.

Windsurfing masts show similar issues as others have posted.

Ski poles, unless you need light, and don’t danage your poles skiing CF is a bad idea. Similar issues

The real issue with CF is not that it fails but that there is little or no warning of failure. It is either solid or its not. Its not like other materials the have some indication of imminent failure.

Back to arrows, CF disappear from the market for several years before returning redesigned. Less failure, stronger, stiffer and lighter. Besides that, end users are now aware of the risk and retire them at a certain point.

Cyclists need to learn CF has a cost (even if extremely expensive) and that cost is retirement vs buying/selling used for CF bikes is not an acceptable solution.
 

Larry

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My trek 5200 is 17 years old. I plan to retire it in 3 years...also, to be clear, this is now my "backup" bike. I usually only ride it now twice a month.
 
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markojp

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Comparing 30+ year old carbon technology, heck, even 20 year old, is silly. It's like saying "I skied Langes 30 years ago and they killed my feet. I'm not going to by a Lange boot."
 

Tom K.

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Windsurfing masts show similar issues as others have posted.

Ski poles, unless you need light, and don’t damage your poles skiing CF is a bad idea. Similar issues

The real issue with CF is not that it fails but that there is little or no warning of failure. It is either solid or its not. Its not like other materials the have some indication of imminent failure.

Nobody windsurfs on anything but a carbon mast these days. Nobody.

One of my 28 year old (estimate) Kerma carbon ski poles broke last year.

Carbon fiber's fatigue life is even much longer than the highly-revered titanium.

Not trying to be pissy, just pointing out that time, and progress marches on.......and I'm one of those guys that @markojp mentioned that swore 30 years ago he'd never put another Lange on his foot, but now I love mine!
 

tball

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Y'all got me worried about my CF 2007 Roubaix. Never crashed and relatively low miles. Love the bike and it will likely be my primary road bike for maybe another decade as I don't see much reason to upgrade.

This article gives me reason to believe I'll be fine riding it as long as I want:

Even if I bought a new bike, I'm sure my Roubaix will remain in my stable and will continue to see miles as long as I'm still able to ride. Am I off base with this thinking? I'm sure many others have similar long term plans for their carbon bikes.
 

cantunamunch

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Interesting. Every single drilling (cable stops, brake mount, derailleur hanger, bottle cage mounts) showed both delamination and corrosion.

The upper seat tube, the fiberglass isolators at the dropouts, the seat lug and the head tube liner bonding are all top quality work. Which makes the voids in the BB CF the head lug wrinkling and brake bridge corrosion triple scary.

The resin choice for the quadrifoglio tubing wasn't the best (as witness the internal delams from impact) - but it wasn't, strictly speaking, a defect. Of course, a customer has absolutely no way of knowing the risk at purchase - it's a "top brand".

The filler in the chainstays is just embarassing.
 

cantunamunch

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Time was mentioned above in connection with Lemond bikes. If THIS is the sort of work Lemond will be doing then I am drooling already. Mandrel-wound carbon and resin transfer moulding: ask for it by name. Oh so clean. Oh so void and wrinkle free.

 

Wendy

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Interesting. Every single drilling (cable stops, brake mount, derailleur hanger, bottle cage mounts) showed both delamination and corrosion.

The upper seat tube, the fiberglass isolators at the dropouts, the seat lug and the head tube liner bonding are all top quality work. Which makes the voids in the BB CF the head lug wrinkling and brake bridge corrosion triple scary.

The resin choice for the quadrifoglio tubing wasn't the best (as witness the internal delams from impact) - but it wasn't, strictly speaking, a defect. Of course, a customer has absolutely no way of knowing the risk at purchase - it's a "top brand".

The filler in the chainstays is just embarassing.
Why did anyone think coupling aluminum alloy bolts, hangers, etc, with carbon fiber was a good idea since carbon is a known good conductor making galvanic corrosion with a metal like Al likely.
 

Wendy

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Interesting. Every single drilling (cable stops, brake mount, derailleur hanger, bottle cage mounts) showed both delamination and corrosion.

The upper seat tube, the fiberglass isolators at the dropouts, the seat lug and the head tube liner bonding are all top quality work. Which makes the voids in the BB CF the head lug wrinkling and brake bridge corrosion triple scary.

The resin choice for the quadrifoglio tubing wasn't the best (as witness the internal delams from impact) - but it wasn't, strictly speaking, a defect. Of course, a customer has absolutely no way of knowing the risk at purchase - it's a "top brand".

The filler in the chainstays is just embarassing.
A friend of mine had this very same frame. I recall that built with Campy Record, it cost around ten grand. I never understood the cutout in the chain stays. Turns out my friend got a crack in the chain stay and he had to replace the frame.
 
Thread Starter
TS
scott43

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I can tell you that early specialized allez carbon frames with bonded aluminum dropouts and bridges were a disaster. I personally removed brake bridges and dropouts with my bare hands and very little effort. Scary.
 

neonorchid

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HANDLEBARSS-Works Shallow Bend Carbon

"out of nowhere the right handlebar broke.

According to the docs ... the handlebar "disintegrated" and caused the front wheel and the bars to turn sharply, which threw the drummer over the top with his shoes still clipped into the bike pedals."
 

pchewn

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Why did anyone think coupling aluminum alloy bolts, hangers, etc, with carbon fiber was a good idea since carbon is a known good conductor making galvanic corrosion with a metal like Al likely.

Carbon fiber is not a "good" conductor. The conductivity of carbon fiber is around 10^5 mho/m (Al is 10^7 mho/m). It is not so much the conductivity of these dissimilar materials that causes the corrosion as it is the electronegativity difference. Al has an electronegativity around -0.75V (volts) and carbon reinforced plastic around 0.05V The difference is 0.8V It is that difference when in contact and the presence of an electrolyte (water with salts) that causes the corrosion.
 

Tony Storaro

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Time was mentioned above in connection with Lemond bikes.

Time have atrocious marketing and sales. I have been trying for MONTHS to get info on how and where can I buy a Fluidity frame to no avail. I fear what would happen if I should need their help in case of warranty claim.

They can make the best quality carbon frames in the world, but if they cannot sell them at the current crazy market prices for carbon bikes, I do not know what to say really...
 

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