Scoe Posted January 10, 2009 Share I ride a light alu MTB (mongoose meteore team) I'm toying with the idea of getting a caebon frame (rm9 or something) What is the usual weight loss with carbon? Are there any other advantages? How will these advantages improve the raceability of the bike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveO:K Posted January 10, 2009 Share Unless u r sponsored carbon should be avoided on the mountain.I have seen many carbon frames with major damage caused by minor falls. Your weight saving can be as much a 500grams over light alu, but is it worth it? On the upside there are many guys repairing carbon frames, but i personally wouldn't like to ride a "patch job" bike...good luck with the decision rocks vs carbon=rocks every time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlek Posted January 10, 2009 Share If you want the bling factor go for carbon but if you are worried about weight carbon is not always the way to go in comparison my Trek 8900 aluminium i had when i raced for garmin was lighter than my team mates trek 9.9ssl carbon with exactly the same spec and now i am racing a trek 6700 with a few upgrades but nothing is XTR except the BB cups and my bike is only 1.5kg heavier than that carbon trek my team mate had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singletrackmind Posted January 10, 2009 Share Id take ali over carbon anyday, i just got a new rocky mountain ali frame, its super light and half the price od a carbon and will last much longer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaOscar Posted January 10, 2009 Share I can only speak from personal experience (what the hell else are we supposed to speak from). I rode a full carbon DS MTB - a Trek Fuel 100 Team Issue (who's own saga is unfolding over on the For Sale forum), for 4 years. It was awesome, beautifully made with a lovely 'soft' (not flexy) feel.It never missed a beat and handled very predictably. There is a reason that carbon, or composite materials are used for various high end applications. From sailing boats to racing cars to kayaks etc, etc.And have long since replaced aluminium as material of choice. The biggest hurdle to bicycle manufacturers seems to have been:1. This issue of sizing - you can't just cut tubes to length, a separate mould needs to be made for each size.2. Mostly as a function of the above - cost.3. It is generally a more skill intesive method than welding. There seems to be no real weight saving over aluminium in bicycle construction until one gets the the high end of the scale. Bear in mind that when it comes to composite construction, there are many more factors involved than 'it's made of carbon'. There are various other composite materials which are used in conjunction with the carbon weave (nomex and kevlar are just two), and also the bonding agent and method of construction have a huge impact on the quality of the finished article. So, just the fact that it is 'carbon' doesn't necessarily make it better or worse. But it looks way cool. Do as much research as you can, make an informed choice, treat everyone's opinion as bullsh*t. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie Posted January 10, 2009 Share Do as much research as you can' date=' make an informed choice, treat everyone's opinion as bullsh*t. [/quote'] But how would you know the good research from the bullsh*t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie Posted January 10, 2009 Share I ride a light alu MTB (mongoose meteore team) I'm toying with the idea of getting a caebon frame (rm9 or something) What is the usual weight loss with carbon? Are there any other advantages? How will these advantages improve the raceability of the bike? Only real advantage is weigh & stiffness (if the carbon was designed well) - for the same frame mass, the carbon will be stiffer. For the same stiffness, carbon will be lighter.No other real advantages except for bling factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Walsh Posted January 10, 2009 Share Ryan's Two Rules of Mountain Bike Frames:1. Carbon is the best material for a bike frame.2. Never buy a carbon frame.Simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtbreath Posted January 10, 2009 Share I am sure there is a reason why carbon fibre is used for Formula 1 susoensions and monocoques and Rally bash guards. This does not however mean that you can just slap any old carbon together and it's going to work. This is however top end stuff and is used as such because the difference between winning and losing is so small. If you're up there then go for it. If not, then stick to bang for your buck ali instead of pseudo carbon. Carbon is not carbon is not carbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie Posted January 11, 2009 Share Carbon is used in F1 because it is lighter than almost any other material of the same strength.It has the best fatigue properties of any light weight structural material, which is important fir race cars (not su much for bicycles) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtbreath Posted January 11, 2009 Share Carbon is used in F1 because it is lighter than almost any other material of the same strength.It has the best fatigue properties of any light weight structural material' date=' which is important fir race cars (not su much for bicycles)[/quote'] Read an interesting article where an American journo team were invited to Japan for the launch of the new XTR. They interviewed the Shimano CEO who made an interesting comment, "to make one perfect component is easy. To make a hundred thousand perfect components is the real challenge." I think this is so much more applicable to carbon and its variety of uses than anywhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaOscar Posted January 11, 2009 Share Do as much research as you can' date=' make an informed choice, treat everyone's opinion as bullsh*t. [/quote'] But how would you know the good research from the bullsh*t I said "treat everyone's opinion as bullsh*t" not treat research as bullsh*t.This is a forum of random people, all with opinions.I'm just offering my opinion that the man needs to do some real research of his own in order to make the best decision he can for himself. And he should treat that as bullsh*t too.Just beware the 'experts' on this forum, because: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp Posted January 11, 2009 Share ? Do as much research as you can' date=' make an informed choice,?treat everyone's opinion as bullsh*t. ?[/quote'] ? But how would you know the good research from the bullsh*t ? I said "treat everyone's opinion as bullsh*t" not treat research as bullsh*t. This is a forum of random people, all with opinions. I'm just offering my opinion that the man needs to do some real research of his own in order to make the best decision he can for himself. And he should treat that as bullsh*t too. Just beware the 'experts' on this forum, because: ? DeltaOscar My problems with some of these experts. a)They are heck of a condescending. b)They assume that everyone else around them is a fool. c)If they know better then why don't they build us the perfect bike. What was that saying again........Jack of all trades and master of .................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iqbal Posted January 11, 2009 Share What if carbon and aluminium frames were the same price, which would hubbers choose then ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudsimus Posted January 11, 2009 Share What if carbon and aluminium frames were the same price' date=' which would hubbers choose then ? [/quote'] Silly question. Carbon frames are 5x the price of alloy bikes and they are already more popular than aluminium frames. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikerBoy Posted January 11, 2009 Share Carbon gets damaged from a light fall and costs a lot to repair! Go for aluminium. It is a much better deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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