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$200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 9th 04, 03:15 PM
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?

I have a buddy who wants to sell his Giant carbon fiber mt bike for
$200.

I know NOTHING abt Giant bikes or carbon fiber frames.

Is $200 a good deal? An awesome deal maybe?

Its in decent condition.... a few scratches here and there.

I don't know what such bikes cost new so I don't know what a used
price should be.

Advice?
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  #2  
Old April 9th 04, 03:32 PM
Loomer
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?

wrote in message
...
I have a buddy who wants to sell his Giant carbon fiber mt bike for
$200.

I know NOTHING abt Giant bikes or carbon fiber frames.

Is $200 a good deal? An awesome deal maybe?

Its in decent condition.... a few scratches here and there.

I don't know what such bikes cost new so I don't know what a used
price should be.

Advice?


What year and model? Scratches on carbon fibre are not good as these lead
to failure.


  #3  
Old April 9th 04, 04:03 PM
Andrew Thorne
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?


I have a buddy who wants to sell his Giant carbon fiber mt bike for
$200.

I know NOTHING abt Giant bikes or carbon fiber frames.

Is $200 a good deal? An awesome deal maybe?

Its in decent condition.... a few scratches here and there.

I don't know what such bikes cost new so I don't know what a used
price should be.

Advice?


There were two different Giant carbon frames that I know of. The older ones
were called Cadex CFM or something like that. They were built of carbon tubes
glued into aluminum lugs. These were light, flexy bikes - I really liked 'em.
But you are talking about a bike from around 1990-4 or so. If you like the
geometry and the components are in decent shape, $200 might not be a bad deal.
Keep in mind that you won't be able to run a modern suspension fork on one of
these without completely screwing up the steering.

The newer ones were called something like MCM, and are a VERY light one-piece
frame. I've never ridden one, but they have a decent reputation. I'd think that
$200 for one of these would be a damn good deal - again depending on condition.

Cheers,

-Andrew
  #4  
Old April 9th 04, 05:24 PM
Chris
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?


wrote in message
...
I have a buddy who wants to sell his Giant carbon fiber mt bike for
$200.

I know NOTHING abt Giant bikes or carbon fiber frames.

Is $200 a good deal? An awesome deal maybe?

Its in decent condition.... a few scratches here and there.

I don't know what such bikes cost new so I don't know what a used
price should be.

Advice?


Be careful of the scratches - anything more than a superficial surface
scrape can easily lead to failure in a carbon frame. Also, look into the
components...these frames are old, so the components probably are too. Many
might be worn out and need to be replaced, and could be hard to find.

Or, the scratches could be simple decal marks (you didn't give a lot of info
on the frame) and the components could be in perfect shape...it comes down
to whether or not you trust your buddy and you really like riding the bike.

If I found a bike I really, really enjoyed riding, I'd pay $200 for it easy.

Chris


  #5  
Old April 9th 04, 07:08 PM
Andrew Thorne
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?

Be careful of the scratches - anything more than a superficial surface
scrape can easily lead to failure in a carbon frame.


Just a quick question for those who may actually have data: Is this true? It's
one I've heard many times over the years, but the only broken carbon frames
I've ever seen were the first generation OCLV that would break if you looked at
them cross-eyed.

Sooooo, is this "deep scratches cause carbon frames to break" just an old
spouse's tale?

-Andrew
  #6  
Old April 9th 04, 07:38 PM
BB
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?

On 09 Apr 2004 18:08:47 GMT, Andrew Thorne wrote:
the only broken carbon frames I've ever seen were the first generation
OCLV that would break if you looked at them cross-eyed.


I have scratches all over my carbon fiber frame ('96 OCLV). That bike has
taken so many hard tumbles over the years, that I find it hard to imagine
anyone breaking it. Maybe if they're REALLY heavy and hit a rock REALLY
hard - but not just from some scratch.

My only complaint about carbon fiber is that the clearcoat gets scratched
up pretty easily and looks like hell - particularly when you thrash it
around on rocks (granted, I didn't look very good afterward either).

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)
  #7  
Old April 9th 04, 08:12 PM
Chuck W
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?


"Andrew Thorne" wrote in message
...
Be careful of the scratches - anything more than a superficial surface
scrape can easily lead to failure in a carbon frame.


Just a quick question for those who may actually have data: Is this true?

It's
one I've heard many times over the years, but the only broken carbon

frames
I've ever seen were the first generation OCLV that would break if you

looked at
them cross-eyed.

Sooooo, is this "deep scratches cause carbon frames to break" just an old
spouse's tale?

-Andrew


Mind you I'm not schooled on carbon bike frames in specific, but I do deal
regularly with carbon fibre industrial components. The danger of component
failure (or in this case, frame failure) comes from the depth of the damage.
What some people might call a scratch others would call a gouge. Most
carbon components built up for strength are composed of layers of carbon
fibre "cloth" weave, stacked in different directions. An individual carbon
fibre is strong only in one direction, so you need lots going in different
directions to make something that can withstand load.

Anything deep enough to break a significant number of individual fibres in
the weave weakens the frame at that point, making it more likely to break
under sudden load. If the scratched part is still stronger than the weakest
area designed into the frame under that specific load, then no harm, no
foul.

However, if the damage is deep enough to make that area the new weakest
point in the frame under any particular load, then the clock is ticking, so
to speak.

Hope that helped.

-Chuck W


  #8  
Old April 9th 04, 10:00 PM
Chris
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?


"Chuck W" wrote in message
...

Anything deep enough to break a significant number of individual fibres in
the weave weakens the frame at that point, making it more likely to break
under sudden load. If the scratched part is still stronger than the

weakest
area designed into the frame under that specific load, then no harm, no
foul.

However, if the damage is deep enough to make that area the new weakest
point in the frame under any particular load, then the clock is ticking,

so
to speak.

Hope that helped.

-Chuck W



Which is exactly what I was getting at, without the textbook
info...normal-use scratches are okay, and I did exaggerate a bit for the
sake of the OP. Because we can't see the frame - he might be buying a bike
ready to give out, you never know - I figured I'd set him up to err on the
side of caution.

Chris


  #9  
Old April 10th 04, 02:06 PM
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?

What year and model?

Don't know...will find out and get back with the info
  #10  
Old April 10th 04, 02:08 PM
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Default $200 for used Giant carbon fiber bike good deal?

Be careful of the scratches - anything more than a superficial surface
scrape can easily lead to failure in a carbon frame. Also, look into the
components...these frames are old, so the components probably are too. Many
might be worn out and need to be replaced, and could be hard to find.


OK

I will have to go over and look at it again. I really didn't look it
over well myself

I already have a decent mt bike... but thought abt buying this one for
my 19 yr old nephew
 




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