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Just ordered a Carbon framed Bike - The right choice ?

by Boomerado
Mon, Feb 25, 2013 12:24
7

After deliberating for a good 12 months i have finally decided that enough is enough and i have just ordered a Cube Agree GTC Race.. with a carbon frame.

I have been told for years by fellow cyclists to avoid Carbon frames as they are weak and you only need have a minor knock or crash and they are buggered.

The "Sales" man in the bike shop told me that Carbon is 80% stronger than Aluminium.

1. Is this correct ?
2. Is it a Myth that Carbon frames can easily break on you ?

Cube Road bikes get great reviews so i`m guessing they are a tried, tested and trusted company. Has anyone else had concerns when it comes to Carbon frames ?

Any Help would be greatly received.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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7 comments

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Boomerado | 12 years ago
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Well thank you everyone for all your feedback. Basically as I see it

1) nothing to worry about with carbon, jobs a good un, go out and enjoy it
2) it will take a fair bit of punishment within sensible reason
3) folk who dis carbon also make comments such as "ooh it's like sitting on a razor blade !"

I have gone from having serious doubts to really looking forward to collecting it on Saturday.

Thanks road.cc folk. Now who wants to help me with my fantasy team for Wednesday ?

Ha ha

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SpeshRider7287 | 12 years ago
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I've never seen a carbon frame break that easily.. I have seen frame failures on both ally and carbon frames but you'd have to really try hard to get anywhere past a hairline fracture.

In answer to your question regarding the strength, 80% seems to be a guess more than anything as there are so many factors in what makes something strong, in Alloy, it's the tube profile, thickness of the metal and quality of the welds that contribute to strength and with carbon it tends to be tube profile but more importantly the quality of carbon used and how it's been woven around the mould.. In general carbon is stronger and has better shock absorption qualities and is lighter too. Pound for pound, carbon wins every time so my opinion is ignore the haters and see for yourself.

Check out the link below and you'll be amazed at what you see.

http://m.pinkbike.com/news/santa-cruz-bicycles-test-lab.html

George

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crash144019 | 12 years ago
0 likes

Got side swiped by a police car at somw speed on my carbon frame and not a scratch

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bashthebox | 12 years ago
0 likes

Carbon's great. The only problem is that if it does go, it tends to go rather spectacularly. Having said that, it takes a hell of a knock to kill it.

I've had my rear wheel crushed by a (careless cunting hit and run wanker) driver and the frame was just fine.

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matthewn5 | 12 years ago
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Carbon frames are resilient and durable. Just don't drop a brick on them and you'll be fine. Damaged frames can be repaired by various specialists in the UK. I've had a couple of carbon bikes and not had a problem. You'll like the low weight and smooth ride.

Aluminium frames are good too, but tend to brittle fractures over time. They can't be repaired easily due to the high strength aluminium and special welding techniques.

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notfastenough | 12 years ago
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Different schools of thought. No doubt there are steel/titanium fans who think that carbon is spelt m-a-j-o-r f-a-i-l-u-r-e, but I've had no problems with my generic chinese carbon frame. I look after it, but it's also had two winter's worth of salt, a little crash when slipping on diesel and another little crash when the guy to my left couldn't unclip, fell onto another lad, who fell onto me and I couldn't hold the weight (dominoes!).

Cubes are decent bikes. You'll be fine.

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TheHatter | 12 years ago
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not sure, but its a fact that 93.2% of statistics quoted are made up on the spot...

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