Carbon Bikes - the more you know

webguy's picture
webguy
Offline
Joined: 12/31/2000 - 22:01
Posts: 13785
Carbon Bikes - the more you know

A few videos featuring Raoul Luescher. Former Boeing engineer and now a carbon bike expert. He tells you all about frames, wheels, how well they are built, why they fail. Also, there's a video about carbon wheels which explains why carbon masts used to explode when we left them in the sun. Absolutely fascinating if you use a carbon windsurfing boom or a carbon bike component

He shows a number of high end bikes cut in half

Talks about carbon fiber repair and how he scans. Talks about the difference between aerospace carbon fiber and bicycle carbon fiber

About carbon wheels but talks about problems of heat (and why you don't want your masts cooking to a high temp under the sun)

Short version: Carbon fiber is a great method of construction if done properly. Much better fatigue and corrosion resistance than aluminum. If not done properly, it will have a vastly shorter life. Windlord was telling me one time about the requirements for carbon fiber in aviation. After listening to this guy, I really understand how different it is than the carbon fiber products we use. That being said, what we use is much better than even five years ago.

0 Like