Just out of Curiousity... Carbon

IMHO carbon just doesn't look and feel as nice as a good steel frame. Might be useful if you wanna shave off miliseconds off your commute but most people on here like the feel of steel and aren't bothered with having the latest in unobtainium drivetrains.

the thing about steel is that it doesn't take much to make it light and strong, unlike other material such as alu.

alu is fragile

I think it comes down to cost. My around town bike cost £425 all in. My carbon road frame cost three times that. If someone nicks the town bike I'll be pissed off for sure but I'd get over it.

If someone nicked the carbon dream machine I'd be ready to go on a homicidal killing spree down Brick Lane of a Sunday morning indiscriminately killing anyone who I think looks like they are involved in bike crime. Then I'd take their ID from their corpses and go around to their houses and kill all their families.

would serota perhaps be looking into making a nice £300 carbon track frame for the british hipster to ride on the road ?
hmmmm nice thought !
or does the dude just ride a-serota ?

carbon frames are also more fragile ? crack break easier than a more giving steel frame ?

the thing about steel is that it doesn't take much to make it light and strong, unlike other material such as alu.

alu is fragile

bollocks bollocks bollocks

Read. Learn.
http://strongframes.com/material_tech/metallurgy/?PHPSESSID=5454b2d278e3a3ba75f60a0e26957677

Good link, that. I'll have time to read it now that my new job is to be a beach bum.

My links are the highest quality. 100% pure, crystal clean links of ungodly loveliness.

hippy has more links than an elephants chainmail suit. fact

bollocks bollocks bollocks

+1

+1

absolutely

hippy has more links than an elephants chainmail suit. fact

he also has the suit.

and wears it.

and it fits.

he also has the suit.

and wears it.

and it fits.

fact.

he also has the suit.
and wears it.
and it fits.

Yep.. I wear it out.. unlike sniffly man flu victims. :P

Why are there so few 'Fixed Wheel' bikes that are built with carbon fibre frames, compared to standard road bikes?

because there are very few carbon road fixed frames available (I think pearson do one, can't think of any others) it's still a relatively niche market, and as simplicity/cost/repairability seems to be high on the list for fixed riders it's not surprising.

HOWEVER, there are plenty of carbon track bikes around, and they are high performance tools for use in a velodrome, they are impractical for road use and the people who build these up with mountain bike handlebars and such are known as "Morons"

It's worth remembering that there are no hills on the track, and weight is less of an issue than aerodynamics, not so in road racing.

There are fat blokes riding more expensive road bikes around than the ones used in the TDF, this has yet to transfer to track racing, where pros use top equipment whilst many the rest of us still ride steel and alloy frames with spoked wheels.

at the end of the day, carbon is still a performance material, and road fixed riding (with the exception of time trail) is about going to work, delivering/collecting packages, going down the pub and winter training.

• hardcore audax crazys.
  

oh yes, sorry tommy (+fixedwheelnut!!)

i love my carbon road bike, but i wouldn't leave it chained up anywhere.

so i have a (much cheaper) steel fixed for riding places where I'm getting off the bike.

Snap

I love* carbon road bikes. :o

*(riding past)

Carbon fork on steel frame... Absorbs lots of road "noise".

That's a very comfy fence to sit on, but you might want to just HTFU.

;-)

i love my carbon road bike, but i wouldn't leave it chained up anywhere.

so i have a (much cheaper) steel fixed for riding places where I'm getting off the bike.

I agree. I'm happy locking up my relatively cheap fixed-gear bike all day but I'd never want to lock up a bike that I'd paid any more than about £700 on. The good thing is that you're not that likely to need to lock up a £2500 road bike.

Read. Learn.
http://strongframes.com/material_tech/metallurgy/?PHPSESSID=5454b2d278e3a3ba75f60a0e26957677

I went straight for the link from this page that said "try something exotic".

boy was I disappointed.