rear carbon stayes

big Pete said:

Hi all. I have a question about rear carbon stays. I have heard that they are not for big people (i.e. they break at the joints). Is this true? I think it is false but I just want to make sure. I am 240 pounds. That is my definition of big. I.e. will I break them in non crash race situation or in normal riding? What is the life span of this new fangled thing?

How long is a rope? It's just bonded technology. Trek says their bonded rear triangle is no issue for 250 pounders.If you worry, just 'say no'.They are more marketing,hype and bling than anything of real value.

I disagree on the hype part. I find when the rear chainstay is carbon, the ride of the bike smoothes out dramatically. When coupled with a carbon fork, the difference is noticable. I wouldn't worry about a chainstay made of carbon breaking...go for it.

big Pete said:

Hi all. I have a question about rear carbon stays. I have heard that they are not for big people (i.e. they break at the joints). Is this true? I think it is false but I just want to make sure. I am 240 pounds. That is my definition of big. I.e. will I break them in non crash race situation or in normal riding? What is the life span of this new fangled things?

Thanks

Pete

I own an '04 Specialized Sequoia. It has CF rear stays. I weigh about the same as you and I haven't had any problems yet. I put 1400 miles on it last summer. It's a pretty comfy bike but I wouldn't want to race on it as it's the wrong geometry and a tad on the heavy side (as am I). I wouldn't have purchased the bike if I thought the CF stays were going to be an issue.

I have another road bike that has aluminum rear stays. If I were to put fatter (700x32) tires on it instead of the current 700x23 tires and not pump them up to ridiculously high PSI levels it would be a pretty plush ride too. It's an inexpensive way to achieve the same results. However, may road bikes won't allow fatter tires.

Hooben said:

I disagree on the hype part. I find when the rear chainstay is carbon, the ride of the bike smoothes out dramatically.

Well,it you think about it real hard,the only thing CF stays can do is possibly damp some small vibrations. But you probably buy alot of hype. FWIW, have you actually tried exactly the same frame and total setup with CF stays and without.I think not.

big Pete said:

Hi all. I have a question about rear carbon stays. I have heard that they are not for big people (i.e. they break at the joints). Is this true? I think it is false but I just want to make sure. I am 240 pounds. That is my definition of big. I.e. will I break them in non crash race situation or in normal riding? What is the life span of this new fangled things?

Thanks

Pete

I'm not small either and I have a carbon rear seat stays on a new bike I just purchased. I do enjoy the ride and haven't thought about any weight limits (I'm 220 now, but I usually ride myself down to 200). From other carbon componets, I can certainly say the material is pretty tough. Plus, if you think about it, the chainstays take alot of the weight too and those are metal.
😎

boudreaux said:

Well,it you think about it real hard,the only thing CF stays can do is possibly damp some small vibrations. But you probably buy alot of hype. FWIW, have you actually tried exactly the same frame and total setup with CF stays and without.I think not.

Hype comes in two forms: the kind the manufacturers try to spoon feed the buyers and the kind that enthusiasts spew when they tell people that "it's all hype."

Anyone with some engineering, science, or design experience will tell you that there is nothing intrinsically superior or inferior to CF stays. It all depends on the design and application.

When I first bought my bike with carbon chainstays, I weighed 220. I have not had any problems or caused any damage to the carbon.

I weigh 270, and I posed this exact question to Trek. They said that the frame would be fine, as did my LBS. On advice from my LBS, we did not consider a carbon seatpost, because I need my seat up pretty high. I wouldn't worry about the frame though.

That being said, wheels are where you need to look most carefully. The "race-lite" type wheels that come with the kind of bikes that have carbon stays wouldn't hold up well. I'm getting some 36 spoke wheels with Mavic A719 rims and Ultegra hubs built by my LBS to replace the ones that come with the bike (I went with a Klein rêve V).

JJakucyk said:

I weigh 270, and I posed this exact question to Trek. They said that the frame would be fine, as did my LBS. On advice from my LBS, we did not consider a carbon seatpost, because I need my seat up pretty high. I wouldn't worry about the frame though.

That being said, wheels are where you need to look most carefully. The "race-lite" type wheels that come with the kind of bikes that have carbon stays wouldn't hold up well. I'm getting some 36 spoke wheels with Mavic A719 rims and Ultegra hubs built by my LBS to replace the ones that come with the bike (I went with a Klein rêve V).

Thank you all for the info. Looks like I have to ride both versions of the bike to make my choice. I also think that price and fit will help in the making of that choice. The bikes I am looking at is the Aquil Prima http://www.aquilacycles.com/show.php?bike=prima or the Mega CX which does not have rear carbon stays and may fit me better. I have only seen these bikes on the net though.

Pete