NEWS
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Carbon Fiber Frames |
08-Jun-2013 |
Carbon fiber is the newest and most exotic material commonly used for bike frames. Unlike steel or aluminum, carbon is not a metal--it is composite of strands of carbon pressed together in layers with an epoxy glue, much like a high-tech version of particle board. Carbon can be shaped into interesting and aerodynamic forms, and it is common to see carbon bike frames composed of teardrop, flat or wing shaped tubes rather than the perfect cylinders used in steel bike frames.
Carbon bike frames are sometimes built as a single solid piece and they are sometimes built from individual tubes joined together with lugs much like a steel or aluminum frame.
Carbon is very lightweight and can be made very stiff. Due to the alignment of the individual fibers, carbon frames have a more distinctive "grain". This allows carbon bike frames to have different amounts of stiffness directions and to stiffen "non-linerally". That is, while a steel frame will flex twice as much under 40 pounds of pressure as it did at 10 pounds, a carbon frame tends to get "tighter" as it flexes. It will give a little bit under slight pressure, but resist more stiffly as pressure increases. Manufacturers often exploit this property to give carbon frames the stiffness of aluminum for sprinting but the springiness of steel when rolling over bumps.
Although the price is steadily dropping, carbon is by far the most expensive common bike frame material.
Like aluminum, carbon fiber bike frames are corrosion resistant, but they require a bit more tender loving care than a steel or aluminum frame. Although carbon is strong and stiff, a deep scratch or hard bump can compromise the structural integrity of a carbon frame, making it prone to catastrophic failure.
