Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

outsideonline.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 102 posts

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#11

Post by yodsanklai »

henriquez wrote: post #3

It’s not necessarily about “elite racing performance” for a lot of people. Carbon fiber frames dampen road vibrations a lot better than aluminum and are noticeably less “harsh” to ride. For road bikes which typically don’t have any shock absorbers, a decent quality carbon frame is simply much more comfortable to ride on than the equivalent aluminum frame from the same manufacturer. This can make a huge difference on…

> Carbon fiber frames dampen road vibrations a lot better than aluminum and are noticeably less “harsh” to ride.

It's a common argument but I wonder how much more comfortable a carbon bike can be (I never had a carbon bike). Would bigger tires compensate for a more rigid frame?

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#12

Post by beached_whale »

yodsanklai wrote: post #11
henriquez wrote: post #3

It’s not necessarily about “elite racing performance” for a lot of people. Carbon fiber frames dampen road vibrations a lot better than aluminum and are noticeably less “harsh” to ride. For road bikes which typically don’t have any shock absorbers, a decent quality carbon frame is simply much more comfortable to ride on than the equivalent aluminum frame from the same manufacturer. This can make a huge difference on…

> Carbon fiber frames dampen road vibrations a lot better than aluminum and are noticeably less “harsh” to ride. It's a common argument but I wonder how much more comfortable a carbon bike can be (I never had a carbon bike). Would bigger tires compensate for a more rigid frame?

People are riding bigger tires than in the past anyways. 28mm and 32mm road tires are not unusual these days, comapred to commonly seeing 23-25mm. Gravel bikes are often larger. They are not generally going to be slower because they are bigger in significant ways.

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#13

Post by Finnucane »

I'm saving my pennies for a titanium bike from Seven. It will be a lot of pennies. (my current bike is a steel touring bike from Jamis, and it's been great, but it turns out that if you are in New England and ride every day for 14 years, you will eventually get a little rust.)

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#14

Post by pkulak »

zwieback wrote: post #10

I read back in the blog history of this author and thought to myself, "yeah, what an opinionated dork!" Then I got to his post about the beauty of friction shifters and went, "yeah, he's right!". Scrolled some more "what a dork". Etc.

I mean, it's Bike Snob NYC. You've captured his (online) personality quite well.

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#15

Post by tadfisher »

henriquez wrote: post #3

It’s not necessarily about “elite racing performance” for a lot of people. Carbon fiber frames dampen road vibrations a lot better than aluminum and are noticeably less “harsh” to ride. For road bikes which typically don’t have any shock absorbers, a decent quality carbon frame is simply much more comfortable to ride on than the equivalent aluminum frame from the same manufacturer. This can make a huge difference on…

And if you go with a truly lightweight steel frame, like with triple-butted Reynolds 853 or 953 tubes, you're in for a nasty surprise when the top tube folds like tissue paper. I absolutely believe these frames have the best ride quality, and are comparable with aluminum for weight, but durable they are not.

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#16

Post by 303uru »

henriquez wrote: post #3

It’s not necessarily about “elite racing performance” for a lot of people. Carbon fiber frames dampen road vibrations a lot better than aluminum and are noticeably less “harsh” to ride. For road bikes which typically don’t have any shock absorbers, a decent quality carbon frame is simply much more comfortable to ride on than the equivalent aluminum frame from the same manufacturer. This can make a huge difference on…

As someone with a stable of 12+ carbon, steel, titanium and aluminum bikes, meh at most. I think this is marketing over reality. The only real benefit I see for carbon is you can make a much more aero frame, end of story. Hard to make round tubes aero.

>Really any crash significant enough to cause frame damage

This part , however, is straight non-sense. My titanium road bike has taken hits that have put multiple carbon bikes out of commission in the same time frame. Titanium and steel are drastically more durable, will take much harder hits and are repairable.

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#17

Post by epx »

henriquez wrote: post #3

It’s not necessarily about “elite racing performance” for a lot of people. Carbon fiber frames dampen road vibrations a lot better than aluminum and are noticeably less “harsh” to ride. For road bikes which typically don’t have any shock absorbers, a decent quality carbon frame is simply much more comfortable to ride on than the equivalent aluminum frame from the same manufacturer. This can make a huge difference on…

Some say carbon fiber has the steel-like dampening properties. And steel can be welded by anyone. OTOH an aluminum bike has to have suspension because it is so harsh to ride w/o it.

In general, the whole current bike culture with very expensive bikes/parts and a plethora of expensive and semi-proprietary tools is disgusting.

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#18

Post by 303uru »

No good reason? Aerodynamics, period, end of story. I spend all my training hours on a titanium road bike. Why? It's durable. On race day, though, I'm on a top of the line aero road bike. Why? Because it's fast, noticeably. You simply cannot make round tubes aerodynamic and when you're racing at 25+ MPH it does make a real difference.

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#19

Post by mikae1 »

epx wrote: post #17
henriquez wrote: post #3

It’s not necessarily about “elite racing performance” for a lot of people. Carbon fiber frames dampen road vibrations a lot better than aluminum and are noticeably less “harsh” to ride. For road bikes which typically don’t have any shock absorbers, a decent quality carbon frame is simply much more comfortable to ride on than the equivalent aluminum frame from the same manufacturer. This can make a huge difference on…

Some say carbon fiber has the steel-like dampening properties. And steel can be welded by anyone. OTOH an aluminum bike has to have suspension because it is so harsh to ride w/o it. In general, the whole current bike culture with very expensive bikes/parts and a plethora of expensive and semi-proprietary tools is disgusting.

> an aluminum bike has to have suspension because it is so harsh to ride w/o it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcRzp6xwuzE

Re: There's No Good Reason to Buy a Carbon Bike

#20

Post by convolvatron »

Finnucane wrote: post #13

I'm saving my pennies for a titanium bike from Seven. It will be a lot of pennies. (my current bike is a steel touring bike from Jamis, and it's been great, but it turns out that if you are in New England and ride every day for 14 years, you will eventually get a little rust.)

if you aren't too fussy about appearance - take it down with some fine grit sandpaper until its clean. clean with alcohol. apply a dilute patina solution until it gets at least grey. clean it with alcohol again. warm it up with a hair dryer. apply carnauba wax.
Post reply on HN