The Ghost Posted August 13, 2012 Share So for some reason I have taken a fancy to the idea of going carbon, and Im really not sure if I should spend the money.I have been riding for about 4 months now, Im still very much at the 15k/h ave mark; so no expert. I ride with tools and a Camelbak, so I dont think 900g would make a difference in terms of weight. Is that a fair assumption?And outside of weight is there any point in spending >R20 000 on a new frame when I have a perfectly good aluminium frame; is bump absorption and handling etc really that much better?Will it make riding more enjoyable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cav' Posted August 13, 2012 Share Ride what you currently have till the thing falls apart, then buy a new bike. Carbon is a bit more responsive and only little bits lighter than today's alloy frames. Dexter-morgan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatek Posted August 13, 2012 Share It is not worth going carbon if you are a newcomer, unless you have the money. I rode my alu bike for 3 years (did the 94.7 in 3:02:00 on a stock standard Raleigh RC1000) before upgrading. If you feel like you want to upgrade rather spend the money on wheels, its the best upgrade money can buy. Some hubber said for every 100 grams save on ratation weight (wheels) you need take 500 grams of your framebike (excluding wheels). My 2 cents worth Edited August 13, 2012 by Zatek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted August 13, 2012 Share No, it won't make any real perceivable difference in the way / speed that you ride, nor is it worth shelling out for unless you were going to be upgrading anyway. In terms of bump absorption etc, yes carbon is "better" than alu. But there's also only so much a frame can absorb in place of a good suspension system. In terms of handling - all things remaining the same (geometry, head angle etc) then they will be the same. Carbon may just be a tad stiffer, so will respond faster to your pedal inputs (by faster, I mean that more of your leg power will transfer into the wheels as opposed to into the frame of the bike) If it were me, I wouldn't. Until my frame broke, that is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ghost Posted August 13, 2012 Share Thanks, that sounds pretty much like what I was thinking.I have already bought a new wheelset, so that is done.I have full XT everywhere, so Im happy with that. I guess I just love the way the Santa looks. Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowpoke Posted August 13, 2012 Share I rode my old TCR (road bike) for 8 years and was always of the opinion that it was good enough. It had carbon fork and carbon seat and chain stays. I bought myself a new toy last week - full carbon TCR advanced 2 and took it on it's maiden ride on Friday. After the second corner I was 100% convinced that I had not wasted a single cent of the cost. I know that a lot of my happiness is also the upgrade on components, but it does have a completely different "feel" to my old bike, despite the same geometry and the same set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted August 13, 2012 Share I rode my old TCR (road bike) for 8 years and was always of the opinion that it was good enough. It had carbon fork and carbon seat and chain stays. I bought myself a new toy last week - full carbon TCR advanced 2 and took it on it's maiden ride on Friday. After the second corner I was 100% convinced that I had not wasted a single cent of the cost. I know that a lot of my happiness is also the upgrade on components, but it does have a completely different "feel" to my old bike, despite the same geometry and the same set up. Oh yeah - in the case of road bikes, without a doubt. I remember when I changed my alu bike to a carbon one. Yowzer, was there a difference! The thing is, in road biking you want to be as stiff as possible in order for all your power to transfer to the road, and it's under completely different forces to MTB. But remember, the new gruppo & wheels would have contributed to that "enlightened" experience as well... As for the OP, why didn't you SAY it was the Santa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robol Posted August 13, 2012 Share For the road - carbon. For mtb - definitely alu, because is cheapper to replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydenWilson Posted August 13, 2012 Share what i have always worried about with carbon mtb's is that carbon fibre is only strong directionally. What happens when you fall off it (I tend to fall off things)? Or clip a tree? will the frame explode into a million peices as it received a significant stress from a direction outside of its design criteria? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ghost Posted August 13, 2012 Share As for the OP, why didn't you SAY it was the Santa!:-) it makes all the difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ghost Posted August 13, 2012 Share what i have always worried about with carbon mtb's is that carbon fibre is only strong directionally. What happens when you fall off it (I tend to fall off things)? Or clip a tree? will the frame explode into a million peices as it received a significant stress from a direction outside of its design criteria? I also used to worry about that, but watching that strength testing video, and talking to people who have ridden carbon MTB's for 6 years, I think the top players have got it sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted August 13, 2012 Share what i have always worried about with carbon mtb's is that carbon fibre is only strong directionally. What happens when you fall off it (I tend to fall off things)? Or clip a tree? will the frame explode into a million peices as it received a significant stress from a direction outside of its design criteria? That's why the guys have looked at different ways of layering the carbon, in order to make it strong in real world scenarios as well as the test lab scenarios. Have a look at the Santa Cruz in house testing vid for their Carbon frames. You'll see that the strengths of carbon far outweigh those of alu. As for the clipping a tree issue, either way your bike may come off 2nd best. But it'll be able to take more punishment if it were a carbon frame before it fails. Yes, when it fails it fails catastrophically. But then it fails at 50-100% higher stress levels than alu, so that argument is effectively moot. If you subjected an aluminium frame to the same forces that cause a carbon frame to fail, you;ll see that in fact alu (or steel, for that matter) is also a dangerous material when pushed beyond its boundaries.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted August 13, 2012 Share Thanks, that sounds pretty much like what I was thinking.I have already bought a new wheelset, so that is done.I have full XT everywhere, so Im happy with that. I guess I just love the way the Santa looks. If you like it buy it, if you feel it makes you better then it's doing exactly what you want. Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Posted August 13, 2012 Share if you buying carbon to save weight you are buying it for the wrong reasons . if you buying carbon for its ride characteristics as opposed to other materials ( alloy or steel ) then you buying it for the right reasons . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pusher Posted August 13, 2012 Share Stick to what you have.There's still a lot to learn and you will know when the time is right to upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbaker Posted August 13, 2012 Share Go Carbon - Don't worry about falling & hitting trees...I do that on a weekly basis and both my carbon frames have stood up to the torture... As for saving weight...Lose the camel back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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