Carbon fiber stiffness and absortion

youhaditcoming · #1 05-27.-2008

Hello

A couple of days ago at the Giro ' the three cyclists on the leading break slowed down significantly approaching the final kilometer.

On a left hand turn one of them fall in a very uncommon way.

The TV camera then showed a small imperfection on the road beneath the cyclists back wheel... which made his bike literally jump like a wild horse would do with a cowboy...

Isn't this stiffness that makes some people complain about carbon bikes ?

Regards

alienator · #2 05-27.-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by youhaditcoming

Hello

A couple of days ago at the Giro ' the three cyclists on the leading break slowed down significantly approaching the final kilometer.

On a left hand turn one of them fall in a very uncommon way.

The TV camera then showed a small imperfection on the road beneath the cyclists back wheel... which made his bike literally jump like a wild horse would do with a cowboy...

Isn't this stiffness that makes some people complain about carbon bikes ?

Regards

Jump like a wild horse? That's unlikely. As for the "stiffness" of carbon fiber, the stiffness is whatever the designer designed into it. CF frames can be soft, too.

If it was that road imperfection that made the bike "jump like a wild horse," then any bike--steel, aluminum, magnesium, or whatever--would have "jumped like a wild horse."

TheDarkLord · #3 05-27.-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by youhaditcoming

Hello

A couple of days ago at the Giro ' the three cyclists on the leading break slowed down significantly approaching the final kilometer.

On a left hand turn one of them fall in a very uncommon way.

The TV camera then showed a small imperfection on the road beneath the cyclists back wheel... which made his bike literally jump like a wild horse would do with a cowboy...

Isn't this stiffness that makes some people complain about carbon bikes ?

Regards

The bike didn't "jump like a wild horse". It hit an obstacle while he was in a curve (and was looking behind him), and that lead to loss of traction and the wheel sliding out under him. Try the following experiment: go close to a pavement and kiss the curb with your tire while you are turning. That will give you an idea of what it feels like (you will quite likely lose control of the bike).

gemship · #4 05-27.-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDarkLord

The bike didn't "jump like a wild horse". It hit an obstacle while he was in a curve (and was looking behind him), and that lead to loss of traction and the wheel sliding out under him. Try the following experiment: go close to a pavement and kiss the curb with your tire while you are turning. That will give you an idea of what it feels like (you will quite likely lose control of the bike).

Ah geez youhaditcoming, like a deluge you had it coming!

youhaditcoming · #5 05-28.-2008

Well, I posted because it didn't look like sliding, it looked more like hitting with your crank while turning.

The back wheel definitively went up while the TV crew spotted the obstacle on the road hitting it.

531Aussie · #6 05-28.-2008

I've been taping the Giro highlights every day, so I had that bit on tape and watched half a dozen times on slow-mo.

His front wheel hit a piece of cobble in such a way that the cobble chunk flipped up sharply, causing the back wheel to jump violently

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode