Carbon Fibre - some questions

I want to know more about carbon fibre frames. I was looking at one brand of bike and in exchanging e-mails with the company learned that in of their bikes they use Toray High Modulus Carbon Fibers (mix of M50J and M60J). A search for "toray" here didn't show much, but I was wondering where I can get more opinions about the stength of these specific fibres, any known issues, etc.

I assume that as I continue to research other bikes and learn what fibres they use, the brands may be different, so I'll also be looking into comparing those fibres as well. Unfortunately it's (I think) harder to compare the companies' building/lay-up processes (lots of marketing out there)...but for now I'm just wanting to know more about CF bikes (can a good company build with inferior fibres?...hence why I'm intersted in the materials at the moment).

Toray CF is located here in Decatur, AL. You can go to their TorayUSA website and click on the carbon fiber division, where you'll find descriptions of the various CF grades they produce.

Suppose in theory, a stronger CF fiber would allow for a lighter frame. But imo, good design, testing and consistent quality of the manufacturing processes is more important to overall strength and durability than the brand or specification of the basic fibers.

What he said. I'd focus on fit, ride quality, aesthetics , and the like rather than fiber modulus and other fiber parameters. It's what's done with the CF, not what CF is chosen. Type of fiber is a big marketing point, though.

A perfect example of how fiber type isn't so important is with the new Trek Madones. They come made from either of three CF types. By all accounts, the mid-range model rides just like the high end model, and the difference in weight is very small. The difference in cost, however, is not so small.

I ride a Look 595, and I've never thought about the constituent CF, not even before buying.

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I actually work for Toray Composites in Washington state. We buy the carbon fiber and the carbon fiber fabrics from either the Decator plant or in Japan, where the parent company is, and turn that into carbon fiber composites called prepreg using unigue resin systems. It's not just the fiber that creates the performace of the material, but it's also that resin type that is bonded with the fiber and fabrics. I think that we supply material to a couple of bike builders like Aegis and someone else....can't remember who. All of the CF prepregs vary depending on the fiber and resin used. Of course there are a few CF producers and CF prepreg manugactures out there, but I will tell you that Torayca fiber is a far superiour CF out there on the market. Also, there are differnt ways to layup - dry vs wet. Not sure which is better. It all depends on the manufacture of the frames and their engineers.
Not sure if that helps at all. Good luck.