Questions about Carbon Fiber bike?
- 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
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.
Chris Girouard – BMX Bike Check 5/26/10