Carbon fiber appreciation

[Johny]

Hmmm. To make it more fun. Since "Mr. jerk is doing an apprecition thread on any thing carbon free", I would like to propose an appreciation thread on anything "carbonized". I go first, Colnago C40.

:beer: :beer: :beer:

[Bill Bove]

...Campy's carbon cranks and seat posts, Elite's carbon cage but the one piece of carbon goodness that I'll never give up is my Fizik Aliente carbon railed, carbon shell saddle. The best.

[Dude]

I gotta say an Ottrott (which I used to own) and the record shifters. Oh yeah and my forks

Other than those three things, I have never owned any other piece of carbon fiber.

[Climb01742]

i know this is a minority opinion, but i like carbon forks better than steel. i make no pretense of having a fraction of the knowledge of others here but half the bikes i own have steel forks and half have carbon. hands down, for me, carbon wins.

[Rich_W]

hmmm :/

[JohnS]

Easton cf bars.

[Spinner]

Just installed some Gilles Berthoud carbon fenders on my new Rambouillet. Talk about functional eye candy. Sweeet!

[PBWrench]

Zipp handlebar end plugs -- the quintessential accessory.

[theoldman]

There is carbon overload happening, but some carbon is very nice...


Record Ergopower (Brifters)
Record Rear Derailleur
Colnago C40/C50 frames
Look carbon frames

[Elefantino]

1) Carbon-soled shoes. When you are a large-ish person, you are thankful for the lack of flex.

2) The Serotta F-1 fork. I had a steel fork on my old Atlanta, but I prefer the feel of the carbon fork on my CSi. Like Climb, I have nothing to go by other than feel. Conversely, I prefer a Thomson seatpost to a USE Alien; again, nothing but my butt to tell me any difference.

3) Carbon-fiber hoods. My son has one on his VW GTI and I think it looks cool. Proud dad.

4) Carbon-fiber wallets. I am not making this up. You can buy a carbon-fiber wallet from Meguiar's online.

:rolleyes:

FWIW,
Mike

[IFRider]

Originally posted by headset
Just installed some Gilles Berthoud carbon fenders on my new Rambouillet. Talk about functional eye candy. Sweeet!

Oooh ... that sound nice. Is there a link you can provide ...

Warren

[slowgoing]

I have an old Kestrel 200 EMS in carbon weave that is the lightest, most effortless climbing bike I have ever ridden. It's nothing short of awful going downhill though.

[BigMac]

Carbon Fiber has some great uses, just not on my bicycle. I've skied more this season already than I have the last 5 combined thanks to my Black Diamond Crossbow skis(cf caps); telemarking has never been as easy nor as enjoyable. Epic paddles (monocoque cf construction) are the lightest, stiffest and stongest in their class. Kayaking the surf or the open coast has never been easier or as much fun.

On a cycling related note, I do love the cf soles on my DMT shoes but that's as close as cf gets to my bike save for the F1 fork on my Legend. Now why Serotta did not make the F2 EXACTLY like the F1, just add a bit more (additional 8-10mm would be greatly appreciated) tire clearence, I have not a clue. For those weight weenie types they could have offered a cf steerer version as long as they also offered a Cr-Mo steerer for those of us who consider feel and safety to be of greater import than a few grams. Ben or Kelly, how 'bout an F3 fork that is a worthy successor to the F1? Heck I don't care too much what you charge, just give me a REAL option instead of the F2.

Since I'm largely a carbon based lifeform, well some may argue otherwise, and I consume a high fiber diet I'm enough "carbon fiber" w/o putting it on my bike, no? Others would suggest I'm just full of s...

Ride on!

[Climb01742]

i second the vote for carbon fiber soled shoes. my shimano's offer a wide, super efficient platform to translate my meager power output from tootsies to road. and my easton cf seatposts make my butt happy, which is nice, seeing as how that is where my brains are most days. :D

[pbbob]

have the record carbon levers on the 78. not brifters just the levers. very pretty levers. second the motion to see pics of the cf fenders since I just heard of them a couple days ago.

[EPOJoe]

"Still loving my OCLV's" he said as he shot up another staggeringly steep incline.:banana:

[jerk]

the jerk does like some carbon do-dads:

ada wheels

f1 forks, star forks, onda forks

walser time trial bikes

c-50s

whatever "carbon" refers to when written on my pointy record shift levers that the jerk has shoved ten speed guts into.

[csm]

I like carbon forks. especially my f1

[vaxn8r]

My '97 LeMOnd OCLV and my, just arrived today, Calfee Tetra Pro!

[Kevin]

I like my carbon:

Campy Brifters, Easton EC 90 Bars, Record Seatpost, Record Cranks, rails on Alliante saddle, spokes on Topolinos, Serotta forks and Serotta rear on Ottrott ST.

Kevin

[Johny]

Originally posted by jerk
the jerk does like some carbon do-dads:

ada wheels

f1 forks, star forks, onda forks

walser time trial bikes

c-50s

whatever "carbon" refers to when written on my pointy record shift levers that the jerk has shoved ten speed guts into.

Jan Ullrich just called to add another vote to walser time trial bikes. :)

BTW, he also said that he will let us know how he likes his Giant TCR carbon. :)

[Spinner]

I am not yet adept at resizing digital photos for posting here, however check the link below for some so-so shots

http://www.wallbike.com/berthoud.html (http://http://www.wallbike.com/berthoud.html)

[Russ]

OK, my take...

I love Stella Azzurra Tirreno bars. I like the way carbon fiber has allowed us to make these anatomic shapes on bars. They look hi-tech and are very comfortable as opposed to the old style Belgian drop/bend aluminum bars.

There are other companies that make similar bars such as FSA, ITM, and 3T.

[Jay Torborg]

I'll second the Stella Azzurra Tirreno bars - love them!!! I also like the Alliante saddle, Record brifter handles, and of course, my Ottrott. I've got a few other bits of carbon on my bike, but I'm not sure it adds any real value except possibly a few less grams.

[MadRocketSci]

I'll second the OCLV. It got me back onto a bike ever since I abandoned my el-cheapo diamondback mtb U-locked to the student union at grad school. I wasn't all that excited about the steel lemonds I started test riding years later, and probably would've been a once a month rider had I purchased that Buenos Aires, which is what my wallet was telling me to do ("How can a dressed up Varsity cost F'N fifteen hundred bucks!?!?!?")

And then my a$$ touched carbon and it was a whole new ballgame...so light, so smooth...the bike, that is.

now, back exploring serotta steel...and liking it!

[shinomaster]

the record levers, shimano shoes and the Carbon Forks..My shimano shoes are 10years old and look like hell but they still work and are as stiff as a brick..