New Bike - Is Carbon a must? (Page 2)

I think if you keep a bike long enough for the "lifespan" question to pop up then its time for a new bike lol. 

There is no "lifespan" issue.  Materials fatigue, yes.  But for the amount of abuse it would take to fatigue a bike frame beyond use is a phenomonal amount.

Back in the day some manufacturers would only warranty their carbon stuff for 5 years.  That was more of a manufacturing issue in that they did not trust their own lay-ups and clear coating.  As more and more manufacturers built with it, the learning curve went up exponentially.  And when you hire away aerospace engineers from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Grumman to design and build your bikes, you tend to end up with some pretty sturdy desings ........

This to me is the most important fact in your original post.. what interests me is that you throw out three bikes around $2500 that all have different geometries.. if you want to truly buy a bike based on fit.. buy the bike that best matches your body geometry.. not making your body match the bikes geometry.. to do this get your fit checked and then look what bikes are available that are close and go form there.

seriously??  where can we see that information?  are there any longitudinal studies?  b/c I have never heard this...if you go to any bike store, they will tell you carbon is king.

 I want to ride my alum Cervelo then ride a P2C back to back to see about comfort, my primary concern, since I know both fit me, but I'm really concerned about the lifespan. For $2500, the bike better last me 5-7 years.

Those sound like numbers pulled straight from his a**.  No manufacturer would put out a bike that would only last 1500 miles.  Talk about bad publicity.  There are a lot of people on here who ride more than that in a quarter.  Lets ask them if their carbon bikes have broken. And some brands do carry a lifetime warranty on their frames.  I know my carbon Giant has a lifetime warrantied frame, as do the Cervelo's I've been looking at.

You are correct and make sure they have a warranty - I really think it is the rider putting more stress on the bike then normal - but check and see how many they have taken back, make sure they have a record of selling Carbon (not new to it) because some MFG have quit making them (Litespeed) -  I also believe Trek has a lifetime warranty - but I have never read any of the warranties - It would be interesting to see what is covered under warranty.

^

What he said.

That rep is just full of sh-t.  I've worked with reps for years and not a single one ever said anything even close to as assinine as that!

If I hit my planned mileage .. that would be two frames for me this year

Yeah, if I'm dishonestly selling bikes, I'm trying to get you to fall for this "rule of thumb," but I'm going to cringe and cower if you ask to back it up with facts.

As a buyer, no way can you expect me to purchase two or three frames per year.

Take it for what it is worth, but I was a salesmen and mechanic and was in charge of the service department of 3 different shops over 5 years .......... so I do have just a little bit of experience on the subject.

I think you need to add a zero to those numbers Then you might be in the ballpark.

atl_runner - 2008-08-20 11:01 AM

Daremo - 2008-08-20 9:58 AM

Take it for what it is worth, but I was a salesmen and mechanic and was in charge of the service department of 3 different shops over 5 years .......... so I do have just a little bit of experience on the subject.

That's a lot of Job changes in a short amount of time. Tell me, do you work well with others? 

Also, What is your biggest weakness, and where do you see yourself in 5 years?  

LMAO!

atl_runner - 2008-08-20 11:01 AM That's a lot of Job changes in a short amount of time. Tell me, do you work well with others? 

Also, What is your biggest weakness, and where do you see yourself in 5 years?  

Volatility of retail establishments (one shop closed the bike portion, the other I was working at as a favor to a teammate until I got the 3rd one).

My swim.  At Kona ............

Well not to add any more fuel to the fire - I found a carbon fiber MFG on the internet - sent him an email about Carbon Fiber and the life of it compared to Alum for example:

Here is his response:

Dear Grady,
 
Yes and no! The bike will last indefinitely with normal use. But carbon fiber composite has a relatively poor impact resistance. So if you run over a big rock or crash the bike, it may be damaged, perhaps beyond repair.
 
Best Regards,
Vince

so under normal use you should be fine - 

That is not really fuel.. it is well known that if you crack a Carbon Fiber frame you can toss it