On Wednesday, October 2, 2013 8:13:59 AM UTC-7, Leslie wrote: > > Seems like, if it's a full custom bike, and you're going w/ carbon fiber, > shouldn't you have a carbon fiber rack? Not that I've heard of such, > but.... if you're going custom.... > > We once tested a carbon bike with a custom titanium rack... I am afraid that a carbon fiber rack would look a lot like a Pletscher, which is made from sheetmetal rather than tubes. (I cannot envision a rack glued from small-diameter carbon tubes that would be durable and lightweight.)
Personally, I like steel, both for frames and racks, because steel can perform as well as any other material, but it is more easily shaped and worked, giving the builder more freedom in designing things, as well as being less expensive. I do understand, however, the appeal of other materials, and even far-out bikes are relatively affordable. To put it in perspective, an $ 11,000 bike is $ 1700 less than the cheapest new car you can buy in this country (I looked it up). So for most of us, it's all about the choices we make, more than how much money we have. I bought my Rivendell custom when I was still a student working on my Ph.D. I made a choice to spend a significant portion of my money on a great bike, rather than other things. Most of all, I like reading about interesting experiences, even if I have no aspiration to replicate them, whether it's exploring Antarctica or driving a $ 200,000 Porsche on a racetrack. I hope our readers similarly enjoy to read what it's like to take a top-of-the-line carbon 650B bike to the limit, even if they don't aspire to own such a bike or ride in such a way. Jan Heine Editor Bicycle Quarterly http://www.bikequarterly.com Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/ -- 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 post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
