Spokes

[Froze]

The CF bikes were the usual fair found in bike shops, Specialized, Trek, Giant, Cannondale, Scott, Bianchi, Fuji, Time and maybe one other brand I'm forgetting, and I tested several models within each brand. I just didn't care for the ride, the only one that I liked the best out of those was the Specialized with the Zerts (sp?) inserts which seem to make the ride more comfortable maybe close to that of a TI but the feeling was even deader than the others. Like I said, that's just my opinion, but in the end it was durability that triumphed even if I would have found the idea comfortable lively CF bike. All these bikes I road had low spoke count wheels and 23mm tires just as mine and the other two TI bikes I rode have. Oh and the other think I liked about my Lynskey...it can handle 28mm tires, as far as I know all the ones I rode could handle only up to 25mm.

 

[BrianNystrom]

I thought I was done with this thread, but I saw something today that may interest you: http://t-lab-bikes.com/

Their R3 and X3 frames have similar shaping to what's being done with carbon and they claim that they're producing similar results. Bicycling.com has a review of the R3, though I didn't find it all that enlightening.

 

[Froze]

I thought I was done with this thread, but I saw something today that may interest you: http://t-lab-bikes.com/

Their R3 and X3 frames have similar shaping to what's being done with carbon and they claim that they're producing similar results. Bicycling.com has a review of the R3, though I didn't find it all that enlightening.

But of course that is their marketing that want's you to buy their product. I find in interesting on that site to that they are still trying to compare with titanium. But no CF bike will compare to TI or steel for durability ever...or at least till they figure out how to blend in TI and or steel into a CF matrix which they are working on as we speak.

 

[BrianNystrom]

Blending CF and metals in bicycles has been done for over 40 years. My '77 Exxon Graftek combined CF, aluminum and stainless steel. It's been done for even longer in other industries.