I just looked at Grant's "carbon bashing" piece on the RBW website and appended to the end of the original post is a letter from a mechanical engineer who claims to have great familiarity with carbon materials, and it is well written and sensible:
"Letter from Joe Thomas. I read your thoughts on the RBW site and thought I'd chime in. I'll preface this by stating that while I'm not a material scientist, I do have a mechanical engineering degree and I've worked in system safety and reliability on the space station and space shuttle programs for the last 22 years. That said, carbon fiber is a wonderful material *IF* it's laid up in a manner appropriate for its intended use.No one would argue that it's very strong but the key is the stiffness .It can be made to be incomparably stiff, as in a Formula 1 race car chassis, or fantastically flexible, as in a Shakespeare Ugly Stik fishing rod. What it can't be, though, is resilient. Either it works or it doesn't; there's no in-between. Damage it and it's done. Ever seen an off-road vehicle or race car with a carbon roll cage? No, and you won't because it doesn't give. When it fails, it fails completely. Now, I can see that it's a great RACE bike material, if you're a high level professional competitor who doesn't have to ride the same bike for more than a season or two but for the recreational rider who can't afford to plop down several K every few years (and who isn't a delusional racer wannabe), it makes little sense. This effect is magnified for anyone who tours. If you suffer even a mild structural failure with a carbon bike, your tour is over. There's no fixing that. In contrast, the local welder in Quinter, Kansas, can shore up your steel bike well enough to let you finish the ride. Aluminum and titanium are also fixable but in decreasing degree due to the more specialized skill required. Carbon has its place in the bike world, no doubt, but it's far from the be-all, end-all of materials. --Joe Thomas" -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
