Durability of Carbon Fiber Frame?

Anyone read any definitive studies on the
durability of carbon fiber frames and forks?

I have a Trek 5000, bought new in 1996, it
has close to 60k miles. I'm wondering how
long the frame/fork will last. And, more
importantly, will it fade away gracefully or
fail suddenly and/or catastrophically?

The Trek web site offers little insight with
regard to durability of their products.

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Tp,

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No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

"TomP" wrote:
Anyone read any definitive studies on the
durability of carbon fiber frames and forks?

No. The durability will depend on the design of the particular frame and how
well it was manufactured. The weight and riding style of the owner also must
be factored in. Same goes for steel, alu, and Ti.

The problem with CF is that it's often difficult to tell if an apparent
fault is just cosmetic blemish or something serious.

Art Harris

"TomP" wrote in message
...
Anyone read any definitive studies on the
durability of carbon fiber frames and forks?

I have a Trek 5000, bought new in 1996, it
has close to 60k miles. I'm wondering how
long the frame/fork will last. And, more
importantly, will it fade away gracefully or
fail suddenly and/or catastrophically?

The Trek web site offers little insight with
regard to durability of their products.


Have you contacted Trek directly? They have a fairly long history of making
CF frames and I think that they must have done extensive failure analysis.
Maybe Mike will chime in. He seems like a dealer that stays in close
contact with Trek.

TomP wrote:
Anyone read any definitive studies on the
durability of carbon fiber frames and forks?

I have a Trek 5000, bought new in 1996, it
has close to 60k miles. I'm wondering how
long the frame/fork will last. And, more
importantly, will it fade away gracefully or
fail suddenly and/or catastrophically?

don't have a huge amount of experience with cf from a materials
viewpoint, but i've used cf componentry for a while. based on a fork
failure i had and subsequent research, it seems that sudden catastrophic
failure is unusual. the question is whether the user recognises the
signs that preceed the catastrophe. basically, like a piece of wood
that flexes more than normal, groans, cracks & creaks before breaking,
cf will almost always do the same. if you get any symptoms like that,
stop riding it. "it looks ok" doesn't cut it. if you have no symptoms,
while there's no absolute guarantee, chances are it's ok.


The Trek web site offers little insight with
regard to durability of their products.

fatigue life of fc is usually well in excess of equivalent metal components.

best recommendations for care & durability are keep it clean, keep it
out of sunlight when not in use and cover any small surface stone
chips/scratches, etc with nail polish. also avoid strong chemicals &
hydrocarbons.


--
Tp,

-------- __o
----- -\. -------- __o
--- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\.
-------------------- ( )/ ( )
-----------------------------------------

No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

RWM wrote:

"TomP" wrote in message
...
Anyone read any definitive studies on the
durability of carbon fiber frames and forks?

I have a Trek 5000, bought new in 1996, it
has close to 60k miles. I'm wondering how
long the frame/fork will last. And, more
importantly, will it fade away gracefully or
fail suddenly and/or catastrophically?

The Trek web site offers little insight with
regard to durability of their products.


Have you contacted Trek directly? They have a fairly long history of making
CF frames and I think that they must have done extensive failure analysis.
Maybe Mike will chime in. He seems like a dealer that stays in close
contact with Trek.

No I have not contacted Trek. As, I doubt they would volunteer any such insight
(or data), anyway.
For all they know I could be a liability lawyer fishing for ammo for a law suit.

I was just hoping to gain some anecdotal insight from fellow carbon frame users
here on rec.bicycles.tech, that's all. Which I see another poster has
suggested.

I may try to contact Trek, just to see what they say. I expect they might offer
to examine the frame (for a fee of course), and then tell me I should buy
another frame for one reason or another....

Thanks, Tp

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No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

Thanks jim beam. Cheers to you!

jim beam wrote:

TomP wrote:
Anyone read any definitive studies on the
durability of carbon fiber frames and forks?

I have a Trek 5000, bought new in 1996, it
has close to 60k miles. I'm wondering how
long the frame/fork will last. And, more
importantly, will it fade away gracefully or
fail suddenly and/or catastrophically?

don't have a huge amount of experience with cf from a materials
viewpoint, but i've used cf componentry for a while. based on a fork
failure i had and subsequent research, it seems that sudden catastrophic
failure is unusual. the question is whether the user recognises the
signs that preceed the catastrophe. basically, like a piece of wood
that flexes more than normal, groans, cracks & creaks before breaking,
cf will almost always do the same. if you get any symptoms like that,
stop riding it. "it looks ok" doesn't cut it. if you have no symptoms,
while there's no absolute guarantee, chances are it's ok.


The Trek web site offers little insight with
regard to durability of their products.

fatigue life of fc is usually well in excess of equivalent metal components.

best recommendations for care & durability are keep it clean, keep it
out of sunlight when not in use and cover any small surface stone
chips/scratches, etc with nail polish. also avoid strong chemicals &
hydrocarbons.


--
Tp,

-------- __o
----- -\. -------- __o
--- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\.
-------------------- ( )/ ( )
-----------------------------------------

No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...



--
Tp,

-------- __o
----- -\. -------- __o
--- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\.
-------------------- ( )/ ( )
-----------------------------------------

No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...

no moron ever fixed a lawsuit.
like jaguars, mercs and porsches...

do yawl know i can buy over the counter a brand new factory shortblock
for my volvo for half the cost of a porsche tuneup?

g.daniels wrote:

no moron ever fixed a lawsuit.
like jaguars, mercs and porsches...

do yawl know i can buy over the counter a brand new factory shortblock
for my volvo for half the cost of a porsche tuneup?

I hope it is a sturdy counter.

--
Tom Sherman