Carbon v Aluminum

Anyone have problems with carbon frames cracking or breaking?

I'm starting to look at getting a new bike. I love my old Cannondale R500, and the aluminum frame suits me just fine, but after a decade, I'd like an upgrade.

I had an incident recently where I hit some potholes at full speed on a century ride. No avoiding them, bikes to the left and right, and I hit so hard my handlebars pivoted down! I was really scared that I had damaged the frame, but she held up like a champ.

In chatting with folks, they say that kind of hit would have cracked up a carbon frame, which honestly scares me. Is this really a valid fear, or is the chance of that happening unlikely?

I've hit pot holes on a carbon bike full speed without any problems.

Carbon is also a lot less jarring and dampens vibrations.

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Originally Posted by Cataboo

Carbon is also a lot less jarring and dampens vibrations.

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I haven't hit any big bumps or potholes since I got my carbon bike a couple of months ago. But damn it sure does ride better than the old aluminum one.

I don't have a carbon bike. I never have. I've had two aluminum bikes (Centurion Facet and Vitus). I have three steel bikes and they are wonderful. Don't discount steel, particularly if you are worried about carbon.

I don't have a full carbon bike, but I recently had the opportunity to see something on a two day, double century ride that made me never want to have one: Much of the ride was on the most brutal chip-seal and there was a woman there with a nearly new, full carbon Ruby that had a catastrophic failure of the chain stay which she attributed to the vigorous bumping and banging from the road. Dh's seat post bolt snapped around the same place on the course for (he speculates) the same reason, so it seems a pretty reasonable assumption that the road was reeeealy rough...

Take a look at where you are riding and want you want to accomplish. I have a carbon bike after having an aluminum bike. The carbon is going to be lighter and absorb a lot. My ride in Georgia has some tough country roads. It takes it just fine. Steel is also amazing. There are some beautiful steel bikes that are just as light. I have seem some bad wrecks with carbon bikes and they can take a hit. They really are not that fragile. Carbon will be more expensive.

Thanks, this is all good to hear. I haven't discounted steel, either. Just getting this started. :)

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Originally Posted by tangentgirl

Thanks, this is all good to hear. I haven't discounted steel, either. Just getting this started. :)

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There's also titanium :)

I just bought my first carbon bike the other day, but I haven't been able to ride it yet.

That said, aluminum is quite stiff, so if the AL frame didn't break, it's likely a good carbon one wouldn't either. Carbon breaks when it is forced in a direction opposite to 'normal'. So it's easier to crack a top tube with a bike rack than it is to break a frame by just riding on a rough road.

But my heart belongs to Ti for both excellent road feel and durability. ;)

A suddenly cracked chainstay on a carbon bike sounds like a flaw the construction or some previous damage. Vibration from a chip seal road is highly unlikely to have caused it. Remember they build airplanes from the stuff - its not fine china. Alu isn't really any more durable - it cracks (my husband has cracked a chainstay on an alu bike) and if it gets dented or bent it is finished.

I don't have a full carbon bike, but I do have two road bikes with carbon components. The carbon fork on both bikes has never had an issue. My road riding bike saw some BAD chip and seal back in IN when I was doing group rides in a place where they were too cheap to re-asphalt the road. And no problems whatsoever. I have always lived in the Chicago area, so that is where my first carbon got a lot of work on chip and seal and rough roads. Roads back home are awful because of all the freezing and thawing that they go through.

I'm on aluminum, but am thisclose to upgrading to a more aggressive, carbon frame. The vast majority of our roads are chip-seal and I am tired of returning from rides with numb hands, feet, and butt from the vibration. Hubby is a big guy on carbon and hasn't had major issues. Specialized did replace his frame (under lifetime warranty against manufacturer defect) when it developed an odd crack where the top tube meets the seat tube. He'd ridden 12-13k miles before noticing that spot.

So his bike really took a beating on our roads...plus a 250# beast on the saddle. From the sound of it carbon manufacturing has improved over the last few years, so I don't think most women have much to worry about, even on bad roads.

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Originally Posted by Cataboo

There's also titanium :)

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So many choices. Is there an alcarteeltanium alloy out there?

my 5 year old trek has been through three major accidents-two off road incidents and one brush with a trailer holding lawn equipment and although I haven't held up, the bike has.

Here in Texas , where the stuff was invented, they have chip seal to beat the chip seal anywhere else and it's a killer to ride. The bike has held up well. Let's not not to mention the number of speed bumps, potholes, rumble strips and tire consuming road snakes I have run over- not to mention the road kill and or gravel, hailstones, and miscellaneous , smaller than a bread box but only just, crap I have accidentally hit or run over.

Of course I have never had any other bike than the steel hybrid I had when I first started riding. There is a lot to be said for light weight, especially in distance and hill riding.

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Originally Posted by Eden

A suddenly cracked chainstay on a carbon bike sounds like a flaw the construction or some previous damage.

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+1.
People ride the Paris-Roubaix on carbon frames... ;)

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Originally Posted by Cataboo

There's also titanium :)

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Word! While I love my steel bikes, I prefer my titanium ones.

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Originally Posted by Selkie

Word! While I love my steel bikes, I prefer my titanium ones.

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Out of curiosity, how do you compare the ride between steel and TI frames? I love how my LHT rides, though she is far from light.

I agree with others - the carbon chainstay issue on the chip seal sounds more like a defect than anything else.

I started out road riding and MTB riding on aluminum. I have tried Ti as well. But I LOVE my carbon bikes. I now have two carbon road bikes and two carbon 'cross bikes as well as a carbon TT bike. The ride of the carbon is awesome, and if I can race 'cross and not damage the frame, that says something! (FWIW, my MTB is still aluminum - hmm...).

I have hit potholes and ridden some really rough roads on the road bikes - not an issue on the frames. Have even ridden off the rollers in the basement (unintentionally, of course!) with no adverse effect on the bike.

I HAVE had a carbon handlebar fail catastrophically (it was used and previously crashed, I found out later). Despite that incident (which resulted in 3 months of PT), I still have made a big shift in my frames to carbon.

I'll never go back now, sadly...

SheFly

I have ridden both aluminum and carbon and the difference was amazing. Carbon was so much smoother!

I ride over some pretty crappy roads and have never had a problem. :)

Love my carbon! SO smooth and lovely.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Out of curiosity, how do you compare the ride between steel and TI frames? I love how my LHT rides, though she is far from light.

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Honestly, I think it depends on the bike and its geometry. My Moots Ti frame rides very harshly, but I'm not sure if that's the geometry, the material or both. Of course, that wasn't my intent. That bike just didn't work out for me. At all.

Ti done right should be pretty plush....but it's also pretty expensive. I'd also note that my Moots isn't all that much lighter than my steel Bianchi. If you want decent bang for your buck, stick with steel IMO. If you go custom and use the right tubing, it will be plenty light for you.

I have had my all-carbon Trek 6+ seasons now and I still love it. I have ridden it over and through just about everything including nasty potholes, gravel ... and bumps that jarred the bike so bad that my red blinkie light flew off. No cracks. What I love best is though is how the carbon makes ME feel going over all this stuff - it is such a plush, smooth ride compared to aluminum (I have an aluminum hybrid I still use for trail riding).

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Honestly, I think it depends on the bike and its geometry. My Moots Ti frame rides very harshly, but I'm not sure if that's the geometry, the material or both. Of course, that wasn't my intent. That bike just didn't work out for me. At all.

Ti done right should be pretty plush....but it's also pretty expensive. I'd also note that my Moots isn't all that much lighter than my steel Bianchi. If you want decent bang for your buck, stick with steel IMO. If you go custom and use the right tubing, it will be plenty light for you.

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I'd have to say the same thing. My steel bike and my Ti bike are very similiar in geometry, have identical wheels, tires and saddles and they give me about the same ride quality. My Ti bike is significantly lighter and has nicer components, so I opt for it over the steel one (it's way prettier too!), but I really do get a similiar ride from both. Oh...and yeah, the Ti one cost me 5 times what the steel one did! :eek:

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

I just bought my first carbon bike the other day, but I haven't been able to ride it yet.

That said, aluminum is quite stiff, so if the AL frame didn't break, it's likely a good carbon one wouldn't either. Carbon breaks when it is forced in a direction opposite to 'normal'. So it's easier to crack a top tube with a bike rack than it is to break a frame by just riding on a rough road.

But my heart belongs to Ti for both excellent road feel and durability. ;)

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What did you get?? I thought you loved your ti isis???? I do love my cervelo RS even more than my isis, but i think its cuz I screwed up the size when I bought my Isis and mine is too small for me.

For the original poster, I have had steel, ti and carbon. My carbon is my favorite, but it may not be just about the frame material, its about the fit and other aspects of the design, although it is also my lightest bike and light is good if you like to climb or do fast group rides. But aluminum is equally light although I personally don't have any experience with aluminum.

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Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl

What did you get?? I thought you lived your ti isis???? I do love my cervelo RS even more than my isis, but i think its cuz I screwed up the size when I bought my Isis and mine is too small for me.

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The carbon bike is my new TT/Tri bike. A Quintana Roo Seduza. I do still love my Isis and she'll still likely get most of my ride time. :) If our house burned down and I could only save one non-living thing, I'd save my Isis. :o

I just realized that I have 4 bikes made of 4 different materials. My MTB is aluminum, my road bike is Ti, my commuter is steel and my tri bike is carbon! Funny! Maybe I need a bamboo bike next? :p

Oh, I just found your new bike thread. ENJOY!! See the note on chain rings I posted there. I am not sure you need a new crankset at all, just different chain rings.

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

The carbon bike is my new TT/Tri bike. A Quintana Roo Seduza. I do still love my Isis and she'll still likely get most of my ride time. :) If our house burned down and I could only save one non-living thing, I'd save my Isis. :o

I just realized that I have 4 bikes made of 4 different materials. My MTB is aluminum, my road bike is Ti, my commuter is steel and my tri bike is carbon! Funny! Maybe I need a bamboo bike next? :p

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Out of curiosity, how do you compare the ride between steel and TI frames? I love how my LHT rides, though she is far from light.

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I far prefer my titanium bike to my surly - but my ti is lighter and fits better and I run smaller tires on it. So with that caveat, my surly feels like a very comfortable tank when I'm on it - it does have fatter tires than anything I run on the road bikes and is a flat bar. I have had some pretty big impacts on it (dropping down into a parallel grate) that did hurt my wrists, so apparently steel can't cushion everything :) The ti bike climbs much better, and is just a lively ride - I can feel the road, but it's not a jarring or annoying feel - even with chip seal. I swear chip seal sucks the life out of me though.

I've got a carbon road bike as well, the ti is a little lighter - and they are both fairly similar geometry wise, I do prefer the compact double on the ti... But the carbon doesn't quite feel as lively,I don't feel the road really - which was the point when I decided to switch from aluminum, my wrists couldn't take it. The lack of the road feel from carbon does mean that I probably don't notice the road quite as much - so when I do hit a pothole or something, I'm a bit less prepared for it than I am on a different bike.

That was a very interesting comparison, Cataboo.

I just pulled the trigger last night and ordered a nice carbon bike, a huge upgrade from my all aluminum bike. I'm hoping to ride more smoothly instead of jumping off the saddle in anticipation of every bump in the road. Sometimes my hands are sore for days... I'm really hoping that will change.

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Originally Posted by pll

That was a very interesting comparison, Cataboo.

I just pulled the trigger last night and ordered a nice carbon bike, a huge upgrade from my all aluminum bike. I'm hoping to ride more smoothly instead of jumping off the saddle in anticipation of every bump in the road. Sometimes my hands are sore for days... I'm really hoping that will change.

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A lot of people will tell you it depends on the geometry of the carbon or ti bikes- so my comparisons may really only apply to my bikes :) There is 6/4 titanium which should be stiffer than 3/2

There are lots of threads on here on what to do to help your wrists - I have annoying wrist issues, so even on the carbon or ti bike, I have to have everything perfect. I like carbon handlebars that have the flat wing shape with gel underneath the handlebar tape, I have to rip the padding out of my gloves, and I keep my hands neutral, elbows bent - and if I get all of that right, I can pretty much ride without any hand pain. (okay, eventually the glove works its way up my thumb webbing and its irritating. ) And lots of ibuprofen :)

I hope you love your new bike

[hijack!]

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Originally Posted by Cataboo

I like carbon handlebars that have the flat wing shape with gel underneath the handlebar tape...

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Very quick digression here if I may... Cataboo, what handlebars do you have? I'm looking for ones with a flattish platform on the top but not having much luck with Google - maybe I'm not using the right words to describe it to bring up meaningful search results. Any suggestions?

[/hijack]
Thanks for your patience. I'll return you all to your normal service now. ;) :)

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Originally Posted by Rebecca19804

[hijack!]
Very quick digression here if I may... Cataboo, what handlebars do you have? I'm looking for ones with a flattish platform on the top but not having much luck with Google - maybe I'm not using the right words to describe it to bring up meaningful search results. Any suggestions?
[/hijack]
Thanks for your patience. I'll return you all to your normal service now. ;) :)

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I tried the 3T Ergonova Team in one bike and *loved* it. Also curious about Cataboo's handlebars.

I use the fsa k-wings:
http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/205...p=195%20FSAKB0

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...RL._SS500_.jpg



generally, google wing handlebar or ergo. fsa does make a aluminum version.

The drop around where the hoods are, I find really comfortable.

The handlebars on my Cannondale are also flat on top. According to the specs on my bike they are the Cannondale C2 Féminine, Al-7050 Butted. I really like them.