As many / most of you know, carbon fiber composites have been in structural applications in aerospace and other fields for decades. That said, the frequency and thoroughness of regular inspections (and replacement) carried out in those applications is perhaps beyond what a typical cyclist is willing to do. But here's a couple of nice videos that demonstrate the durability of CF bike parts:
Danny MacAskill Tests Santa Cruz Reserve Carbon Wheels: https://youtu.be/VfjjiHGuHoc Carbon vs Aluminum Frames - Which is Stronger? (you can skip to 1:40 mark for start of tests) https://youtu.be/w5eMMf11uhM But there are also examples of frames and wheels failing... like this one: https://youtu.be/NVkWlsbnUZ8 Aluminum fails too, but for different reasons: https://youtu.be/qKeeHDuoFq8 - Max "horses for courses & ride what you brung" in A2 On Wednesday, August 24, 2022 at 8:52:20 PM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: > Thanks, Max, a clear and informative response. I didn't realize one could > save so much time at sub 18 mph. > > I've only dented 1 rim that I remember, back in about 1971 or 1972 when I > bashed a steel 27" rim by failing to dodge a pothole at the bottom of a > fast hill on the way to school, but it is good to know that CF rims can > outlast and outwear aluminum ones and at lighter weights; the Velocity > Blunt SS wheels on my (disc brake) dirt road bike are very light, but I've > thought of replacing them with an even lighter CF-rim pair (but thin crust > and not deep dish!) some day, especially since I could use the Blunts for a > wheelset for a long-wished-for Monocog replacement. > > As to weight, I've had a few heavy bikes that just felt easier to pedal in > given gears in given conditions; a mark of these was that I naturally > tended to ride at cruising speed on flats 1 cog smaller / 5 gear inches > bigger. But I never took any measurements. > > To respond to Andy's remarks, I myself tend to gauge "speed" by feel, > first by ease of pedaling as described, and distant second, smoothness of > tires (I qualify "smooth" by "tires" because I've had at least 1 noodle > frame that felt very plush but not particularly fast; not particularly > slow, but not especially fast -- ancient long wheelbase Raleigh Technium). > But I have never, ever thought a bike faster because of it felt rode rough > or buzzy. > > So indeed, my criteria are largely sensory. But I'd still not baulk at > lighter and stronger rims. > > On Mon, Aug 15, 2022 at 10:10 PM Max S <msh...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Patrick, >> >> This is a deeply and widely explored topic. There are some numbers and >> graphs to look at here: https://www.wheelscience.com/pages/aero-v-weight >> >> In my personal experience, deep rims can save me ~10-20 watts, depending >> on how fast and where I ride. So, it can get me from 16.5 to 17.0 mph or to >> 17.5 mph average over a 50 mile ride on our local gravel roads, for >> example. >> If those rims are carbon, that nets a 1.3-1.5 kg wheelset that is both >> aerodynamic AND sturdy. If I try to hit that weight mark with aluminum >> rims, I get a less aerodynamic and a flimsier wheelset. >> Speaking for myself, the upshot of running deep dish carbon wheels is >> that they let me give up an hour of sleep the night before to keep up with >> my riding pal... But if you're riding by yourself, and your sleep hygiene >> is good, and you're eating right, and you're not checking the local >> rankings on various "segments" on Strava, it doesn't make much difference. >> Well, no, let me take that back. What I've discovered of late in riding >> gravel roads is that half of my aluminum rims have developed dents, whereas >> the carbon wheels have not. I'm not a particularly heavy rider and I like >> to think I'm a careful rider. But running the same size tires on carbon >> wheels seems to not result in the same number of dents. Now this will >> probably at some point turn into a chipped / delaminated section on that >> carbon rim, but for now, they seem to suffer fewer of those dents. >> Carbon frames and forks do save a significant amount of weight – expect >> about 2-3 lbs saved over a similarly sized steel frame & fork, especially >> from Rivendell. The weight is felt on the hills – about 10 seconds per mile >> of climbing at 4-5% gradients, in my experience, but I could be >> mis-remembering. It's easy to stick two extra 2-liter soda bottles in your >> saddlebag and test the effect quantitatively and qualitatively for yourself. >> If the above makes me sound like a carbon apologist, I'll say that all my >> bikes have steel frames and forks, and most have aluminum rims. I just >> prefer those for now, for a variety of reasons. But sometimes I do ride >> carbon wheels and enjoy the looks and the very very slight speed benefits, >> and noticeable durability benefits for some aspects of my riding. >> >> - Max "who should be working on getting more sleep rather than re-gluing >> his tires" in A2 >> On Monday, August 15, 2022 at 12:30:36 PM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: >> >>> Pretty Sotherland, and that's one of the most interesting head badges >>> I've seen. The motto in full is "Sans peur et sans reproche" -- "Without >>> fear and without blame" or generally, "Beyond fear and reproach," the motto >>> of the ideal knight of chivalry. >>> >>> I'm just asking this (of the group) and not reproaching: Do carbon fork >>> and aero carbon fiber wheels make that much of a difference over a good >>> steel fork and say lightweight tubulars or RH extralight clinchers at less >>> than race speeds? >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Aug 12, 2022 at 2:03 PM Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! < >>> jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> Today was a women’s ride. 29 miles at over 16 mph, and it was great. >>>> Such a nice group of women. Many of them ride TO the ride, and then ride >>>> home again. I come from the opposite end of the city, so I am always stuck >>>> driving. Anyway, I have some photos but first let’s take a minute to >>>> appreciate this lugged, steel bike that belongs to my ride leader. You’ll >>>> see her decals say “Sotherland.” That does happen to be her name, yes, but >>>> it is also the builder’s name. John Sotherland used to build the Rivendell >>>> frames in the Waterford days; he has since opened his own shop. John is a >>>> brother-in-law to my ride leader, and he made her this beautiful pink and >>>> white fade bike in 1988. This is the original paint job. I did not have >>>> time to ask about the fork, but aren’t her chainstays interesting? We were >>>> pulled over on a highway waiting for a rider to fix her flat, so I >>>> hurriedly took these few shots. >>>> >>>> Save this one bike, all the rest were carbon. >>>> Leah >>>> >>> >>> [image: image.png] >>> >>> >> -- >> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e826b19d-0048-49d7-968e-e8b93766186dn%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e826b19d-0048-49d7-968e-e8b93766186dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > > > -- > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/041aab0a-6309-41bd-8f20-8ce51017a187n%40googlegroups.com.
