Questions about Carbon Fiber bike?

Question

- How well can a road bike CF do off road such as dirt and gravel. Will the high vibration wear the CF much quicker than other metals?

-Can it react to high and low temperatures?

-How Fragile is it. For example, if I take a bat and swing at it, how much will it likely break compared to say aluminum and steel?

-I'm using my CF road bike as a touring bike with replaced alloy seatpost and a clamp rack? Yes i do LONG rides. Is there anything that concerns you guys about this? How well can a CF road bike handle when used as a touring?

How much can a cF bike hold. I weight 230 including other things like racks and 2 u locks

Answer 1

Honestly, you are riding the wrong bike. You should be looking at a Trek 520 or a Steel Gunnar or Waterford as these will tackle some issues you have.

Your weight is up there for a loaded CF bikes as you have to factor in not only your weight but also the weight of your gear. The fatigue life is a lot shorter in CF than steel and any damage you get on the CF bike will render it useless. As for the steel bike, you could hit it with a bat and as long as it wasn't buckled still ride a 100 miler the same day.

I would recommend a steel bike but get back the CF seatpost to reduce road vibration even more than what Steel does already.

Answer 2

I agree with the last answer. yuo shouldn't be touring on a CF. It really surprises me how much bike companies and shops continue to sell CF framed bikes to Clydesdales (a 200+lb. rider). They swear by the strength of carbon fiber. I used to race and al my buddies that race tell me that teams won't even recommend racing on a CF frame if you're over 170-175 lbs. The stress placed on the frame is outrageous- sort of like touring. You really should be on a nice steel frame touring bike. The ones mentioned are pretty good and might I suggest looking at the Surly Long Haul Trucker also? Steel is what all the tourers that travel the world ride on. There's a good reason you should ride steel as well. Look at it this way, you'll be riding on a more durable bike and it will cost you less at the same time.