If for example you came across a 10 ye old carbon bike that had been in someone’s shed for years, would it be ok (assuming no obvious damage)?
I guess the question is more that you don’t know it’s history?
Ta
I'd probably be as wary of it as a 10 year old alu bike
Unless it's been in direct sunlight or smothered in paint-stripper, then no - I'm still riding some 20 year old carbon forks.
As above. Unless it’s raw carbon or damaged, it doesn’t fatigue like a metallic frame and will be fine.
Yes, but not within your lifetime. Same with Aluminium alloy frames. Aluminium alloy aircraft trundle on for 3 or 4 decades and millions of miles and tens of thousands of flight cycles before fatigue life becomes an issue. There is not way in the world you're going to make a dent in the fatigue life of a bike frame.
Carbon windsurfing masts go through lots of flex cycles and general abuse but apart from impact damage the only real killer is UV damage. Keep them out of the sun and don'ttap them agains sharp corners on things and they soldier on and on.
I have 20 yr old Neil Pryde masts in Weymouth that are still fine. Old fashioned, but so are the sails they are on.
Same with Aluminium alloy frames.
Erm...there are quite a few cracked aluminium frames about...
Hmm, I don’t really know if it’s been in direct sunlight for ages but I doubt it.
My brother bought it from an old lady ok his village (apparently belonged to her son).
It is a raw carbon finish but looks like lacquer is intact.
There is not way in the world you’re going to make a dent in the fatigue life of a bike frame.
I know two guys who snapped the head-tubes out of aluminium frames. Plus this:
Erm…there are quite a few cracked aluminium frames about…
And carbon fibre, steel and titanium.
The majority of metallic frame failures will happen at the welds which join sections of the frame. This happens For a number of reasons (weld hardness, material thickness, load transfer direction, etc) but one of the most critical factors is the introduction of what is essentially a notch into the material which dramatically reduces its mechanical performance in fatigue. As such, that weld becomes the point of crack initiation and it happens far sooner than anywhere else on the frame.
Aircraft are a poor comparison in this regard as there are very few fabricated components on an aircraft, they’re monolithic for this very reason.
I think you'll also find that many of the older aircraft have had critical structural components replaced. For example:
It is all about intended life cycle and the built in over engineering to withstand abuse and heavy use. Example, before every pro rode carbon there were lots of very light aluminum bike made for them. They were frequently put in an acid bath to further reduce there weight. Giant made some super light versions for Laurent Jalabert for him to hop off his standard bike and get on for alpine hill top finishes. These forms had an expected lifespan of 200km. The top tube was akin to a coke can you could squeeze the sides in. You could literally break the frame irreparably with two fingers. Mike Burrows was given one that ended up eventually in my friends hands. He raced it and broke it within a month.
Returning to OP, my only concern would be if it has taken a knock whilst sat in the shed.
Erm…there are quite a few cracked aluminium frames about
Not from fatigue. This should read there are quite a few poorly designed aluminium frames around and lots of riders who abuse their frames and the same applies to all materials. The ops question was about segregation and really for metal that means fatigue.
I've got some RC31s still in use although now on a mtb /roadie converted runabout bike, they must be about 12yrs old. I've also got an Alu GT frame from 1998 still in the shed that gets built up every now and again. My old Maxlight XCpro snapped at the headtube/downtube after four or five years but it did get alot of use and was rattled round Cwmcarn on a regular basis.
Oh and I was also riding round on a GiantXTC carbon/alloy composite until last year, nothing wrong with that at all and it must be 10-12years old. I sadly gave it to a mate for helping me move house as I didn't have the space to keep it.
It’s a Ribble Nero Corsa (made by Dedacciai ) if that makes any odds?!
It seems to have Black force forks (aftermarket?)
Any idea how i know which year it is? It has black bar tape rather than the red but I’ve no idea if it’s original..
Ta
Hmm this is making me think again about whether I should retire my road bike. It's a 2006 Giant TCR which has a carbon/aluminium bonded frame. I think yes is almost definitely the answer!
