Originally posted by el Inglés
Is it just me but does anybody else out there feel that the lastest fetish for carbon is getting beyond a joke ? Every time somebody makes an old piece from carbon the price rockets , now this was bad enough when carbon forks were introduced and they are better than the alternatives but look what´s happening now .....
Now carbon / composites are good materials but do we need brake levers , handlebars , seat pins , cranks etc ( I´ll come back to wheels later ) made from this material ? We all fall off at times , sometimes our fault , a veces no , so how do we get home with broken levers ,bars etc . If it´s metal it bends and you can , with difficulty, get home ; if carbon it breaks and your stuck . Now a fork that´s hit hard enough to break carbon will render steel or ali unridable, the same with wheels , a choice of taco or kibble but seat pins that crack if not fitted with a torque wrench , I mean it´s getting silly and everytime the price doubles at the very least with little advantage except it´s black ( and now that´s common they are developing WHITE carbon !!! ).
Can we please call a halt while we decide what our priorities are , because if the industry is not careful it could kill the goose the way the overdevelopment of moutain bikes resulted in bikes that people could no longer afford to buy , and an industry in chapter 11 .
ps has anybody noticed how difficult it´s getting to buy a non-anatomic handlebar ? if they are made it´s only in the most expensive model ( Ritchey , Deda ) ???????????????