Carbon fiber has very limited lifetimes when used for something with a lot of hard impacts, so if you’re not sticking to smooth surfaces the bike can literally split apart with little warning
They have limited tolerance for heat that you can’t solve without either improving cooling or reducing hard acceleration / deceleration (using additional material) when used in wheels. When used in frames you need to reduce stress points with very good dampening.
They can certainly be strong, but they have similarities to tempered glass where damage accumulates over time and can’t self heal so they have a best before date built in.
What these manufacturers needs to do is to start embedding indicators for stress damage (common in industrial machinery, etc), but so far I haven’t heard of anybody at all doing that in this industry. Until they do I don’t trust it.
Carbon fiber, aerodynamics…
For this one it’s used as suspension (not carbon fiber)
Not that rare in old mountain bikes either, pretty sure my old steel Raleigh was similar
Carbon fiber has very limited lifetimes when used for something with a lot of hard impacts, so if you’re not sticking to smooth surfaces the bike can literally split apart with little warning
Eh…
Modern mountain bikes? Hell, they make car and motorcycle wheels out of it…
I Googled “motorcycle carbon fiber wheel” and autocomplete immediately suggested adding “failure” and doing that search has endless relevant results
And if I do a research for “Toyota Tercel engine failure” I find tons of results as well even though it’s one of the most reliable car ever built.
Crazy how search engines show you results for what you’re looking for, right?
https://www.bikeradar.com/features/are-carbon-fiber-clinchers-safe
They have limited tolerance for heat that you can’t solve without either improving cooling or reducing hard acceleration / deceleration (using additional material) when used in wheels. When used in frames you need to reduce stress points with very good dampening.
They can certainly be strong, but they have similarities to tempered glass where damage accumulates over time and can’t self heal so they have a best before date built in.
2012 article
Yeah…
People ride carbon mountain bikes with carbon wheels for years without issues and worst case it can be repaired.
I’m done here.
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/carbon-fiber-bike-accidents-lawsuits/
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/giant-facing-legal-claim-of-over-pound200000-after-bike-collapse-causes-broken-back
What these manufacturers needs to do is to start embedding indicators for stress damage (common in industrial machinery, etc), but so far I haven’t heard of anybody at all doing that in this industry. Until they do I don’t trust it.