carbon based life form?

[Fixed]

bro in todays bike race world is it possible to be a top road racer and have nothing carbon or do you need to be a carbon based life form? I have seen state champs.who were not carbon based. when it comes down to a sprint at the end of a race are you better on carbon? ok back to my sci fi book. cheers :beer:

[loctite]

its not about the bike. As much as i dislike LA he is right, its the motor not the chasis. But carbon is a great material and you WILL see it on ALL modern race bikes. However, Ali-Jet would kick my @ss on an all steel rig! :beer:

[Kevan]

A Calfee, Colnago, Look and Bianchi. All, all carbon.

[Sandy]

its not about the bike. As much as i dislike LA he is right, its the motor not the chasis. But carbon is a great material and you WILL see it on ALL modern race bikes. However, Ali-Jet would kick my @ss on an all steel rig! :beer:

It sure seems that the direction is more and more carbon. Carbon bikes are now being produced at many different price points. There will probably be more expensive ones and more cheaper ones on the horizon.

Sandy

[Smiley]

Been giving serious thoughts to ordering a Level Top Tube MeiVici this year . I am just trying to figure out if I should build this frame with STUPID LIGHT parts. I may regret ever doing this cause it may change my thoughts on bike frame contruction forever ...............

[Climb01742]

Been giving serious thoughts to ordering a Level Top Tube MeiVici this year

may i ask what is prompting your serious thoughts? is it the carbon frame, the meivici in particular, or a jonz for something new? knowing how much you love your hors, i'm just curious what has you intrigued? thanks, sir smiley.

[Sandy]

Smiley and I ride bikes than are almost identical in size. I think that he wants to order one, build it up with fancy dancy parts and give it to me as a present. :)

Sir Smiley aka Sweet Smiley! :)


Sandy

[Doc Austin]

In relative terms, carbon fibre manufacture and application is still in it's infancy. Well, compared to steel and aluminum it certainly is, especially on bicycles.

Over the years, the material has become lighter and stronger. It's use in auto racing certainly accelerated knowlege of it's use and perfection of it's execution, but more and more is being discovered every time a new car is built. Mercedes experimented with an all composite engine block on the 1990 C-11 Group C car, and that car won all but one of the world championship races that year. I'm not sure if the composite block actually made it to the grid, but they did test it. After that any information about the engine was kept under wraps, so we will probably never know. For all any of us know, the descendant of that composite block could be on the McLaren Mercedes F1 cars that are currently the fastest cars in the world.

I imagine we have only seen the surface scratched on composite knowledge, and, in fact, we might even see carbon replaced by another composite. In auto racing, anywhere you can gain a edge is worth pursuing, so you can expect to see further development, especially in the areas of rotating and riciprocating mass. To reduce unsprung weight, all F1 cars have gone to full carbon suspension. Kind of hard to believe you could be comfortable at 220mph with only a couple of pieces of plastic holding your wheels on, but that's how that game is played nowdays, and suspension failures are even rarer than when steel was in use. Quite simply amazing.

Who could even dream of what the military is doing with it?

As more and more of the technology filters down, I suspect carbon bikes will get better and better, and cheaper too. As a neo-traditionalist, I think it will be sad when you can no longer buy a top line steel bike and the demise of the CSI from production is merely the first step. Good thing mine is well preserved.

However, if it makes the bikes better, the only thing holy about the old materials is that we revered them, and somehow, the past always seems much more gloious. The new cyclists will want the lightest, strongest, fastest thing they can get their hands on. It doesn't really matter what us old coots want, so we will just have to adapt.

It sure stinks getting old.

[Argos]

Maybe that should be a Project bike for someone, a non-carbon racer.

I'd want the carbon fork, myself, but I'd get rid of everything else carbon in a flash.

[Rapid Tourist]

Smiley, get a new head tube on your hors and Ride On, Man!!!

[zap]

Been giving serious thoughts to ordering a Level Top Tube MeiVici this year . I am just trying to figure out if I should build this frame with STUPID LIGHT parts. I may regret ever doing this cause it may change my thoughts on bike frame contruction forever ...............


Do it.

It will change your cycling life.

Comfy frame.

Light carbon tubular wheelset.

Get THM carbon crank/bb. Whats another grand.

I'd say get a carbon saddle, but know that would be to much. So stick too cow skin.

Campy Record of course. More Carbon :banana:

Nice carbon 120 stem.

Pump shoes to 120.

You be da man super :)

[Andreu]

one of the occasions when using carbon fibre is legitimate:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4448240.stm

[Doc Austin]

Wow.

[1centaur]

"I suspect carbon bikes will get better and better, and cheaper too"

Both true but not at the same time. For them to get better and better, there will need to be more and more R&D. Unlike steel or Ti, which had relatively few variations that were relevant to frame building, I can imagine CF going off in all sorts of directions which inherently makes the volume that reduces price harder to achieve. It's been hard enough to get cycling enthusiasts to agree that CF and metal have very different rides - how will the consensus ever arrive at CF79 is so much better than CF83 that CF79 should be the standard and volume production ensue?

I continue to think that CF advancements will, however, make today's moaning about the impossibility of making safe and enjoyable 1100 gram carbon clinchers seem amusing in a few years (or whatever we have instead of clinchers).

On the MeiVici, I was just touring the Serotta main site pondering the offerings and noted the four stiffness levels offered on each of the main tubes of that frame. Lot of soul searching to be done there before the check is written :)

For Smiley, I would say NOT to go with stupid light parts. Looks to me like that frame is not itself stupid light by today's emerging standards, and if it is a great frame it will be due to ride characteristics other than weight. A DA or Campy brake will not change those characteristics vs. a Zero G Ti brake. So if experiencing what Serotta is putting on the table to the utmost is the goal, then I say stick to normal, high quality components and thereby isolate that unique quality.

[Fixed]

Maybe that should be a Project bike for someone, a non-carbon racer.

I'd want the carbon fork, myself, but I'd get rid of everything else carbon in a flash. bro I think e-RICHIE makes em now and he makes a really cool fork i.m.h.o.

[Smiley]

may i ask what is prompting your serious thoughts? is it the carbon frame, the meivici in particular, or a jonz for something new? knowing how much you love your hors, i'm just curious what has you intrigued? thanks, sir smiley.
Climb , welcome back , I knew if I said something like this it would flush you out. OK the Meivici is serious the stupid light goes against my engineering sense :banana: