You can buy a 'carbon' road bike in...

[benseddon]

How long before we see sub £500 carbon bikes??

 

[cce]

How long before we see sub £500 carbon bikes??

it wont be long - carbon makes perfect sense for the manufacturers, they can bang out identical frames with barely a moment's thought.

 

[bagpuss]

Now that "cycling" is back in fashion for the mean tiime,the demand is there to soak up the supply of well priced machines . The masses do not want to spend over £1000 on a bike . The £300 £800 price band must be the prime market . Even that is a high price for many , hence mail order brand MTB 's .

 

[TGR]

I have read varying stories about cheap carbon frames, it seems that they are ok. I have heard rumours that it is possible to buy a high class frame eg Pinarello for little money as it comes unbadged and lacking in warranty. Apparently a lot of cheap frames are made in the same factory as the expensive ones - so you are actually only paying the extra money for 'the name'.

Does anyone know if Halfords are stocking Pinarello yet? That was strongly rumoured last year.

Richard

 

[Old Ned]

Are there different types of carbon fiber, in the same way that there is different steel tubing for bikes.....or is it just cheaper materials??

Yup, there are the 'gas pipe' qualities and '753' qualities and a lot in between. However, I'm not sure how the strength correlates compared to the 'equivalent' steel level. The difference in weight between the cheapest and best carbon is probably a lot less than that between gas-pipe and 753 though. As there are no 'tube quality decals' attached to most carbon bikes like there generally are on steel ones, then it can be difficult to know what you're actually buying. Some carbon brands do have stickers with lots of technical terms and numbers about their own particular weave etc. and sometimes carbon brands such as Toray but they're not particularly easy to decipher. If a frame has '531' on it, then you know what you're getting! Sometimes you just have to believe the marketing hype :? .

 

[TGR]

I am not sure that a sticker tells you too much - as per this -



^^^ that is a bit of a joke

This one looks more professional but i still have my doubts -



The sticker does not definitely guarantee that what it is attached to is what it purports to be.

Richard

 

[Woz]

The sticker does not definitely guarantee that what it is attached to is what it purports to be.

2nd hand, you are right. Brand new is a different story. Unlike brand new Carbon, there is no way in telling
neither the quality nor quantity of what is inside. It's just hype.

To say it's from the same factory is no measure of quality nor does it imply it's identical; Pinarello sub-contract
the work out to a specification (of there own?) and have built up a reputation. Something unbranded will also
need to be specified to whatever level - or more likely just to a price point - but there is no reputation.

 

[Old Ned]

I am not sure that a sticker tells you too much - as per this -

The sticker does not definitely guarantee that what it is attached to is what it purports to be.

Richard

I was really referring to new frames. With a 'pre-owned' one you can't even guarantee it's the right brand never mind the tubing. Lots of 'Faux-nagos' around.

 

[bagpuss]

I am surprised that new frames do not have to have certain specs to conform with in order to be sold .

 

[ScillySuffolk]

...To say it's from the same factory is no measure of quality nor does it imply it's identical; Pinarello sub-contract
the work out to a specification (of there own?) and have built up a reputation. Something unbranded will also
need to be specified to whatever level - or more likely just to a price point - but there is no reputation.

Quite! There are only so many factories turning out carbon, the difference between the good and the bad is the specification and the QA.

You can be sure that the likes of Pinarello and Colnago have a tighter grip on these than Argos.

You can buy something from the same mould that the big brands use for a fraction of the price, but it's not the same.