Afraid of Carbon

[BroganThompson]

Ay BikeHub,

 

Im on the lookout for a bike upgrade, full suspension, enduro kind of vibe. I dig jumping, bunnyhopping anything on the trail and i weigh around 87kgs.

I see a ton of Carbon bikes on here and I'm super nervous to buy them as I have seen a lot of broken headsets and cracked rear triangle stories.

What have your experiences been and do you think its a safe idea to buy an older carbon bike.

just to give you some more insight, my budget is roughly R25k-R30k so it would be a fairly old one.

 

 

[RobertWhitehead]

My opinion: any material type will not be able to stay in one piece if the rider abuses the frame. But to answer your question, no, I don't believe that an older carbon frame will be weaker or inferior to an older aluminum frame. 

[AkwA]

From what I’ve seen carbon tends to stand up to more abuse as long as there aren’t any major direct hits, also pretty repairable, whereas alu can rarely be properly repaired.

[Fred van Vlaanderen]

Given your budget, you’d be better off getting an aluminium bike. Over the last couple of years there has been great quality trail bikes and the Alu comes at a lower cost, so you get bigger bang for lesser buck comparing to the carbon counterparts. 

[100Tours]

The issue with carbon in my opinion is the risk of loosening of the pivot points in the carbon matrix - not the strength of the frames per se. I have scrapped 2 because the bearings eventually ground out the carbon frame around the bearing race, and I didn't try to repair.

Strength wise, carbon is pretty robust and almost always repairable. I have seen cracks on Titanium, aluminium, etc. but only the carbon one is properly repairable. 

 

 

[Steady Spin]

I ride like you. Jumps, bumps, hop, rocks and whatever the trail throws at me. 

I’m 120kg fully loaded when I ride and my carbon frame holds up perfectly. I’ve cracked 3 alu frames in the past. 

Make sure to check out the bike you buy properly regardless of frame material. 

[splat]

11 hours ago, BroganThompson said:

Ay BikeHub,

 

Im on the lookout for a bike upgrade, full suspension, enduro kind of vibe. I dig jumping, bunnyhopping anything on the trail and i weigh around 87kgs.

I see a ton of Carbon bikes on here and I'm super nervous to buy them as I have seen a lot of broken headsets and cracked rear triangle stories.

What have your experiences been and do you think its a safe idea to buy an older carbon bike.

just to give you some more insight, my budget is roughly R25k-R30k so it would be a fairly old one.

 

 

See if you can pick up a Pyga
That should tick most of your boxes

[Dexter-morgan]

Check this out.

 

[Marcv]

Hi

I see you in the Jhb Pta area, if you looking at second hand go look at bike market and at least then you have some peace of mind on your purchase.

The fact that you can fix carbon is a big plus for me. 

I have seen failure on all material types with the worst being on an Aluminum frame......

Good luck

Marc

[TheoG]

Carbon is your friend, not the enemy.  As long as you steer clear of cheap China knock-offs, you will be 100% on a carbon frame.

Only problem is direct impacts like hitting a rock on the frame, if you avoid those, no problem.

[MORNE]

Carbon bikes aren’t very Metal though 🤘

👀

Edited December 15, 2022 by MORNE

[BroganThompson]

3 hours ago, Dexter-morgan said:

Check this out.

 

Wow! i really didnt expect the carbon to hold up so so much more than the Alu. thank you for sharing this.

[BroganThompson]

thanks everyone,

I definitely feel more confident looking at a couple carbon options!  

[BroganThompson]

13 hours ago, 100Tours said:

The issue with carbon in my opinion is the risk of loosening of the pivot points in the carbon matrix - not the strength of the frames per se. I have scrapped 2 because the bearings eventually ground out the carbon frame around the bearing race, and I didn't try to repair.

Strength wise, carbon is pretty robust and almost always repairable. I have seen cracks on Titanium, aluminium, etc. but only the carbon one is properly repairable. 

 

 

this was part of my concerns, and i feel like that might be difficult to fix and even harder to see if i am buying 2nd hand.

[Christie]

 

+1 for a well made carbon frame. It is the best option, esp. if you can get a good one in the classifieds.

Aluminium is highest risk for failure for an Enduro bike, if you are going to ride it hard.

Titanium is a great material, but difficult to weld properly. Cheap Ti is very risky, quality Ti is very expensive.

... or of it must be metal, perhaps have a look at a Mercer steel trail bike:

https://mercerbikes.co.za/signature-range/

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by Christie

[Jewbacca]

I'm scared of increasing carbon emissions... 

One point to make, bearings. Check your bearings regularly. Seriously, they can go from perfect to not working at all in 1 ride. 

Most failures of dual suss frames come from seized or worn bearings being ridden for weeks or longer. 

Stress and fatigue from poor suspension action will damage any frame