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Is Carbon Worth It !

2K views 8 replies 9 participants last post by  bulten 
#1 ·
Heres a question I havn't seen pondered, Is Carbon really worth it.A Trance Advanced Sl Frameset will set you back €3,000 euro while an the aluminium version €1,100.My new advanced sl build weighs 27lbs (xt group crossmax slr) while ive seen alloy builds in this forum as little 22lbs. Ok so the reviewers say the advanced is much stiffer and handling is much sharper,well ive ridden both and i really couldn't tell the differance.At this point your probably asking well why did i buy the advanced then, simple because its carbon fiber the wonder material and it looks so sexy,but some of the brushed alloy frames are pretty tasty too.The reason ive spent the day pondering this is since i got the frame and with every use its picking up scratches and gouges,and yes i know its a mountain bike and thats what its for but last night as i went airborne over the bars,the levers swung round with such force that they took a chunk out of the lacquer on the top tube,and i'm still wincing at the sight of it! At this rate the frame will be in tatters in a couple of months if its evan in one piece! So at this stage i am wondering maybe alloy would have been better choice or better wearing at the least,and i could certainly find uses for the €2,000 differance.
So let me put the question to everyone here in the forum.
"Is Carbon Worth It?"
 

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#3 ·
On my road bike, Hell yes!

I also liked the feel of a carbon frame on a 29" Felt hardtail I rode. It was as nice as my steel hardtail but more expensive. It's worth is subjective. I'm not sure it's necessary or worth the price on an FS since an aluminum frame can be quite light and less money and the frame does not have to absorb as much as a hardtail.

On a road bike, I swear by my Giant carbon frame. It feels much less tiring than the aluminum frame it replaced.
 
#5 ·
Aluminum is a good material for a FS bike because you want stiffness where it counts and allow the suspension to soak up the bumps. Don't have a carbon bike byself, but Aluminum is a super stiff material that works great. A lot more R&D goes into making a nice carbon frame where aluminum is more forgiving. There are some manufacturers that make scandium aluminum frames that are lightweight and good for XC rigs. Not sure if it's worth the extra 2k.... I have a early 02 XTC AC2 that uses 6061 aluminum and it's pretty light weight compared to some of the DH rigs made out of 7005 aluminum. Both bikes are nice and probably ride similar. I'm wondering what the difference between the two are. I'd love to put them to the 'test' but will have to stick to the ol' AC...
 
#6 ·
snoop69 said:
The reason ive spent the day pondering this is since i got the frame and with every use its picking up scratches and gouges,and yes i know its a mountain bike and thats what its for but last night as i went airborne over the bars,the levers swung round with such force that they took a chunk out of the lacquer on the top tube,and i'm still wincing at the sight of it! At this rate the frame will be in tatters in a couple of months if its evan in one piece! So at this stage i am wondering maybe alloy would have been better choice or better wearing at the least,and i could certainly find uses for the €2,000 difference.
There are a few things that you can do to minimise the damage to your carbon fibre bike and make it last longer.:)

The main one is to make sure that when you crash the handlebars, shifters and brake levers are going to clear the top tube when they swing around. From your picture you should be able to just rotate the brake levers round a little higher on the bars, alternatively you could add a couple of spacers under the stem to raise the bars a bit more.

If the clearance is close then you could file down the bottom of the brake lever a bit. That's what I ended up doing with my SRAM X-0 trigger shifters so that they now clear the carbon fibre top tube by about 2mm.

Another option is to shorten the gear cables so that tension on the cable stops the bars rotating enough to hit the top tube.

For general stone chips and cable rub you can put a couple of layers of clear protective shield over the down tube, bottom bracket, undersides of the chainstays and anywhere that the cables touch the frame to unobtrusively protect it.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Sports_Cover_Bike_Shield_Frame_Protector_Set/5300003844/

That's not going to protect the bike from really hard hits (enough to crack the carbon fibre or dent an aluminium frame) but should go a long way towards reducing cosmetic damage from stones hitting the frame.:)
 
#7 ·
WR304 has some good suggestions, so in a similar vein I always run my levers onnly tight enough so that they don't move under normal use. If I crash, they rotate about the bars and don't damage themselves. This would also mean they don't damage the frame.

I've had both carbon and aluminum bikes (and bars and wheels etc) and I am going back to aluminum, the main reason being that it is easier to tell if it is damaged. If you scratch a set of carbon bars are they written off or are they fine? Who knows, so you gotta replace them either way because you won't get any warning the moment they fail. At least with aluminum you will have a nice dent or bend that shows the extent of the damage (in most cases).
 
#8 ·
Is that an 80mm (or even a 100mm) SID on there? That lowers bb height and steepens HA quite a bit, beyond whats typically spec'ed for that frame. Might be why you went over the bars.

Sorry that doesn't directly address OP question, but it was the first thing that popped into my head when I say that picture. I had to look around closer to see if it was an Anthem or Trance.
 
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