On Mon, 2012-07-02 at 13:47 -0700, Garth wrote: > > > On Monday, July 2, 2012 4:35:10 PM UTC-4, Steve Palincsar wrote: > > > And there aren't any suitable carbon forks for a bike like > that, are > there? > > > My proposition was a hypothetical Steve ..... the dimensions > of the bikes "could" be identical ... no matter if it's a > Bomba, Atlantis, AHH or whatever . Every dimension "could" be > duplicated... meaning the choice would not come down to > geometry, or tire size etc.... purely on material.
Too hypothetical and theoretical for me, I'm afraid. "Modern" CF -- molded CF, not tube-and-lug construction -- is a mass production medium. The mold costs the earth, the first one off costs a million bucks, and every one after costs two bucks to make. In order to pay off the cost of the mold, you need a big production run. Contrast that with steel or Ti, where you literally can make any dimension you want, subject to the availability of the tubing (my Ti Spectrum has constant diameter chain stays, for example, because back in 1991 there was no titanium bike tubing, my bike's made of tubing meant to be used in a nuclear reactor or an airplane) as a one-off and it won't cost any more than any other bike, one-off or stock. And the mass market for a bike that would interest me simply does not exist... even though in my opinion, they make a lot more sense for most people who are riding CF road racers than those CF road racers. Ever see a six foot six guy weighing 230 lb riding a CF road racer with 23mm tires because he can't even fit 25mm tires due to narrow frame clearances? (Actually, that friend of mine has hung his Cervelo up on a hook, and is now riding a custom Ti Seven, and thinks it's a hundred times nicer bike than the CF Cervelo.) As long as what sells is faux-Tour-de-France let's all make believe we are PRO road racers, and everyone riding one wants to be into the shaved-leg-roadie culture, the market for anything /we/ would be interested in is going to be pretty small. And those small production runs make sense for certain materials... and not for others. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
