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Having just got my mitts on a carbon dream machine (for the road) I now find myself terrified to ride it!
I've never been on a carbon bike before, or had any significant carbon components on any of my bikes. It feels like it would snap like a twig under any great strain! I know this isn't the case, but in my head plastic is much flimsier than metal, right?
I've never been so careful building a bike up - it just seems so wrong that bits that directly support my weight are so light.
Can someone please provide a nice scientific reassurance that carbon is a wonder material, super stiff and strong, and that I won't break it and have to walk home crying?
Well if they make F1 cars out of it and drive over 200mph then it must be good stuff.
I have a carbon XC race bike and ride it like any other steel/ally bikes I have ridden in the past.
Just get on and ride it.
Chris Hoy rides carbon and can put down around 2400 watts. It works for him.
here's a pic of some of the carbon on my 13.5lb race bike. I've won a fair few bunch sprints on it too. Takes a few rides to get used to at the start of the season, then gets ridden as hard as anything else. [img] 
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chris who? 😉
how's it going jocko?
2.4KW 😯
That's about 3hp!
It's not just plastic, it's reinforced carbon fibre plastic. Hence, it's very strong.
I don't understand this 'I've got a plastic bike and I'm worried to ride it' syndrome.
Why buy a carbon fibre bike in the first place; the concern must have been there before you actually bought it?
It's like a post i saw a while back on the Thetford Winter Series race forum asking how wet it was going to be at the race that weekend, as the guy had just fitted full XTR drivetrain and didn't want to wear it out in the Thetford grit! WHAT!? Just ride it. Should have just got XT/SLX/DEORE if you are that bothered.
p.s. A RAF engineer once knocked up a carbon crudcatcher for me - it was so stiff + strong I couldn't even bend it, even a tiny bit!
They Fiber Lyte rings? I'd draw the line there I must admit!
You could get a carbon front mech braze-on clamp.
www.bustedcarbon.com
That should reassure you... 😀
why's that njee? I only do limited milage and they're not much more expensive than record alloy rings! I've also got a 1/8th version on my track bike...
I'd have to get a front mech hanger custom made, prob a bit OTT though you never know!
edit: double post
I reckon the [url= http://b-t-p.de/B-T-P_Team/b-t-p_team1.html ]BTP[/url] one probably work! Similar shape to the Trek frames.
I'm not really sure what puts me off, a guy I used to work with had some on a similarly light bike, he was a big bloke, but not remotely fit, and he said they flexed a fair bit and rubbed the front mech. I'd be worried about them wearing too quickly too. They just strike me as a 'show bike only' thing personally, but they clearly work for you, so it's obviously unfounded!
I've had a carbon fibre car (no issues whatsoever) and currently ride a carbon Stumpy FS. Frame cracked off around the seatpost after 8-9 months and was replaced by Spesh. That may have been an anomaly - either way, I've no hesitation recommending them.
njee, I NEED a BTP hanger now! Damn you....
They just strike me as a 'show bike only' thing personally
I'm basically a bike tart and I love the fact they get loads of attention! I'm under no illusion that the weight saving actually make me go any faster 😀