There are so many questions on how to choose the right Carbon Fiber Bikes, especially for beginners. Such as price, size, material, how to care for it, brand and so much more.
In this guide, there are 20 Facts of Carbon Fiber Bikes that is everything that you would ever need to know. Part 1 will consist of the first 10 facts.
20 Facts of Carbon Fiber Bikes (Part 1)
For the first 7 facts we will be covering these questions:
1. What is carbon fiber?
Carbon Fiber is a polymer and is also known as graphite fiber.
It is a lightweight and very strong material. Carbon fiber is 5 times stronger than steel and is two times stiffer.
Though it is stronger and stiffer, it is lighter than steel. Which makes it ideal as a manufacturing material for many parts.
2. Why is carbon fiber so expensive?
Due to its strength and lightweight properties, it is expensive. The common price for a pound is $10. So road bikes cost about $1,000 – $12,000.
Another reason why it is so expensive is due to the thin and strong nature. It is compared to 1/10 thickness of human hair but so much stronger.
Thousands of these thin filaments are used per piece of carbon fiber, which results in an expensive price.
3. How is carbon fiber made?
Roughly 90% of the carbon fiber produced is made from Polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The other 10% are made from rayon or petroleum pitch.
The process for making carbon fiber is part chemical and part mechanical.
And very often, carbon manufactures differ through how it is individually manufactured since there is no one way of manufacturing it.
4. Titanium vs Carbon fiber bike?
If you’re looking for a road bike, you may want to consider titanium instead as it is lighter than carbon fiber. Making it ideal for beginner road bikes.
However, if you are an experienced rider and want to improve your times then a carbon fiber bike is the way to go!
5. Weight of a carbon fiber bike
Most carbon fiber bikes weigh 15 lbs, making it legal for competition.
While most road bike frames weigh 1.5 lbs to 2.5 lbs based on different types: lighter frames for uphill battles at the same time aerodynamic for the flat roads.
6. How to make a carbon fiber bike frame (DIY)
Creating your own carbon fiber bike is much easier than you think. Instead of buying a brand new carbon fiber bike, you can actually replace parts of your bike with carbon fiber.
This can often be much cheaper.
If you’re new to cycling, this could be a great option as getting an aluminium frame is much cheaper but changing some parts to carbon fiber can reduce the weight of your bicycle.
If you are relatively new to cycling, getting an aluminum bike would save you loads of money.
And also, if you are on a tight budget as well, aluminium is much cheaper than carbon fiber bikes, especially if you were to crash and crack the frame.
Once you’ve gotten used to cycling, we would suggest switching to a carbon frame. And once you switch to carbon fiber, there’s no turning back.
The next 3 facts looks at the different carbon fiber bike frames:
8. Rim brake road bike frame
A rim brake moves the original breaking point away from the rims. So what does that do?
It minimizes the chances of burning and damaging the inner tube or tire.
9. Disc brake road bike frame
We’ve got to admit disc brakes on a road bike is getting more popular. With better disc brakes, cyclists riding downhill or sharp corners will love this modification.
The majority of pro teams now ride disc brake bikes as part of their touring practice.
10. Carbon gravel bike frame
Carbon gravel bikes are a mix of both road bikes and cyclocross bikes.
Firstly, cyclocross bikes are a combination of off-ride and road style riding with much thicker and knobby tires.
With this combination of a road bike and cyclocross bikes, it is amazing on mud and it provides cushioning over cobblestones.
Overall
Part 1 is done and dusted. Hopefully, you managed to get some tips on Carbon Fiber Bikes.
Comment down below if you have other tips or tricks for first-time carbon fiber bike riders. We would love to hear from you.
