how well do carbon fiber mountain bike frame hold up?
i want to look at good racing mountain bikes and i know carbon is light. i have heard rumors that if u scratch it the frame is worthless and u shouldn't wipe out on it.
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 GT Zaskar CARBON PRO MOUNTAIN BIKE MEDIUM frame size  US $410.00
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 New 08 Specialized Epic Expert Mountain Bike Frame L US $445.02
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 New 08 Fox F100 RL mountain bike shock shox 100mm US $234.50
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 TREK 6000 MOUNTAIN BIKE 18 GREY US $207.50
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 Cannondale F7 CO2 Frame 24 Speed Mountain Bike US $260.00
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 Trek 4300 mountain bike US $255.00
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Tagged with: good racing • mountain bikes
Filed under: mountain bike frames
Carbon fiber is a bit overrated for mountain biking…..it’s wonderful for road bikes, but my personal opinion based on experience is that it’s a poor choice for mountain biking if you have any rocks on the trails you ride, or if you ride aggressively (jumps, drops, etc).
Carbon’s weakness is damage…..you can scratch them up, but if you get any strong impacts or deep gouges, the frame is basically toast. (You can have some cracks/damage repaired, but it’s very expensive and not usually worth doing it.)
Several years ago, Trek did a warranty replacement for me on an aluminum Fuel 95 frame that cracked. Since they didn’t have that frame anymore and refused to downgrade me to a cheaper frame, or upgrade me to the newer Fuel EX…..and this is odd…..they gave me a beautiful Top Fuel carbon fiber frame with a special finish. They didn’t ask me or run it through the shop first….they just sent it.
It was a beauty, and nimble and lightweight…..but on the third ride I laid the bike over in a rocky turn and put a big gouge with running cracks in the top tube. Trash. And, of course, with carbon fiber there basically is no warranty for damage.
It actually takes quite a bit to fatally damage a carbon frame, but when you do, you’ll find yourself shopping for a new frame. I think aluminum is the way to go for most mountain bikes.
Also, for these reasons, I’d never ever buy a used carbon frame from someone. Too much of a money-pit risk, not to mention injuries if the frame is bad and fails on you.
Just my 2 cents.
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Once they’re broken it’s over. No bending, denting, etc.
Great stuff if you can afford it. The Ibis carbon frames are really strong however……..
for a lifetime.
if you’ll take a good care of your machine.
Carbon fiber is a wonder! The lightest and most comfortable thing you will ride these days. Thing is…… if you are looking to get a mountain bike to race you should stay with the aluminum frames for sure!!!!
Try to find a really light aluminum bike and it will last you much longer. Thing with carbon is…… it’s light and all but you can’t put it through hell like you can with aluminum. And when riding in the mountains or riding a mountain bike you are going to fall and crash and hit things and come down hard off of jumps. All these things just come with the sport. And you can’t say "O then i just won’t crash" cause if you mountain bike any type of racing you know that its going to happen sooner or later no matter how good you are.
Not to mention…… who wants to go mountain biking and in the back of your mind always be thinking "I can’t do that my bike might get hurt". I know that when i go mountain biking it’s balls to the wall and all out fun times. Last time i went i broke my collar bone and fractured my elbow. Bike is fine though even though it fell about 15 feet down the mountain and landed on rocks. You find a carbon bike that would not shatter from that and i’d say buy it. But your not going to.
If you want to be "careful" while you are mountain biking and never really be able to push it to the limits of climbing and descending fast then yeah carbon is great. But if you want to not have to worry all the time about your bike getting scratched and then being unusable because of it then stick to aluminum!
Thanks for the sound advice. I think i’ll steer away from an all carbon frame. Yeah it is nice to own one at the cost of either getting it for free via sponsorship..or just being plain “wealthy”. But for an average “joe” like me who saves for his expensive toys. I think i would just “invest” on a titanium frame. My original choices were, Titus’ X Ti, Yeti’s ASR 5C, and Ibis’ MOJO. With what I’ve read from all the various blogs, articles, reviews, videos, and comments from this site; It’s clear to me that the obvious choice has been made between the three and that’s going to be the Titus X Ti.
I’m pondering this very same question myself, as there is a “Orbea alma carbon” bike heavilly discounted at my local bike shop, (the one with the world cup colours), It’s been 8 years since I’ve ridden, and I have an old titanium rig sitting in my garage, but the cost of kitting that out with new running gear and forks etc…, is making me think about getting a whole new bike, for roughly the same price, Those clear finish carbon frames do look mighty beautifull, though I’m going to have to treat this thing like a princess when I go out with it !, I used to be a lot like a few previous posters hear, broken collarbone etc. so am rather concerned about that, though at 33 years of age I can’t carry on like that any more, plus one of the guys at one of the shops I was looking at said that carbon as does alot of materials has a lifespan, as long as its replaced by the manufacturer like canondale does, then I’ll be happy to buy one, evan so…. I’m still undecided, but thx for your info….