Carbon framesets

mattp1975 said:

It's a shame bike manufacturer's struggle to produce elegant looking carbon frames.

EPS | Colnago

mattp1975 said:

It's a shame bike manufacturer's struggle to produce elegant looking carbon frames.

Totally disagree.....I like the looks of the new CF frames from the big-name manufacturers.

dhk2 said:

Totally disagree.....I like the looks of the new CF frames from the big-name manufacturers.

+1
Pinarello, Kuota, BMC (arguably), readily come to mind.
Remember, these folks have to work within UCI rules as far as shapes are concerned - can't have full fairings and such considering the aspect ratio of the tubes the UCI dictates.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure...", or put another way "beauty is in the eye of the beholder...".

tonyzackery said:

+1
Pinarello, Kuota, BMC (arguably), readily come to mind.
Remember, these folks have to work within UCI rules as far as shapes are concerned - can't have full fairings and such considering the aspect ratio of the tubes the UCI dictates.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure...", or put another way "beauty is in the eye of the beholder...".

I wasn't suggesting full fairings or anything else that might be outside of the UCI criteria, just elegance.

mattp1975 said:

I wasn't suggesting full fairings or anything else that might be outside of the UCI criteria, just elegance.

Well, in that case it should be pretty simple to create a carbon frame that's as you describe - "elegant" being such a commonly understood and agreed upon attribute...Heck, most everyone can agree on what's consider "art" or not, right? Wrong? Indifferent?

I will assent to the idea that there are some indeed ugly (IMO) generic carbon frames being tossed about on eBay though...

tonyzackery said:

Well, in that case it should be pretty simple to create a carbon frame that's as you describe - "elegant" being such a commonly understood and agreed upon attribute...Heck, most everyone can agree on what's consider "art" or not, right? Wrong? Indifferent?

I will assent to the idea that there are some indeed ugly (IMO) generic carbon frames being tossed about on eBay though...

Sorry, allow me to qualify that, elegant (IMO).

mattp1975 said:

Sorry, allow me to qualify that, elegant (IMO).

De nada. And today, for you, free of charge...😄

mattp1975 said:

It's a shame bike manufacturer's struggle to produce elegant looking carbon frames.

Post a photo of a frame in any material that you think is elegant.

Bike4Him said:

Post a photo of a frame in any material that you think is elegant.

Here.

There are a few guys a ride with that have early model lugged Look carbon bikes and they are very elegant looking, one other guy rides a Opus Stacatto another lugged carbon, very nice looking bike. I love my carbon bike but am looking to get a 1985 brand new red Guarceotti to build up with Athena.

mattp1975 said:

Here.

Hmm, so you want a Carbon bike that looks like a steel bike? Or is it the pretty colors of the Colnago? For what it's worth, "elegant" would be just about the last thing that came to my mind when looking at that orange thing. But, as has been said before, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

mattp1975 said:

It's a shame bike manufacturer's struggle to produce elegant looking carbon frames.

there are plenty of nice carbon frames out there, the Pinarello in the photo attached is clearly one of the best.

They're not carbon (titanium) and not elegant either...I'd say Sabbath's designer needs to take a sabbatical from bike design - a loooonnnnnggggg one at that...

baker3 said:

there are plenty of nice carbon frames out there, the Pinarello in the photo attached is clearly one of the best.

Ugly. The rear triangle and fork are melted.

tonyzackery said:

I will assent to the idea that there are some indeed ugly (IMO) generic carbon frames being tossed about on eBay though...

I have one of those frames, and while I agree that its not a scratch a mate's cervelo in looks, nor is it in price (I paid about US 550 inc bank charges + shipping). I don't actually have a fully built pic, but here's one I used to tease a mate whilst building it. Internal cabling is the main thing I missed out on, but there are cheapies who do this, they just couldn't deliver in the timeframe I wanted.

Cheers,
Dim

tonyzackery said:

They're not carbon (titanium) and not elegant either...I'd say Sabbath's designer needs to take a sabbatical from bike design - a loooonnnnnggggg one at that...

But they are distinctive, and some folks pay a lot for that. Back to the original post though, the "elegance" of a bicycle, or of anything, is purely a matter of opinion. I also like the older steel and aluminum bikes, but I think that it is amazing what designers are doing with cf as of late. My personal favorite of the bunch, based solely on looks, is the Pinarello Prince.

kdelong said:

But they are distinctive, and some folks pay a lot for that. Back to the original post though, the "elegance" of a bicycle, or of anything, is purely a matter of opinion. I also like the older steel and aluminum bikes, but I think that it is amazing what designers are doing with cf as of late. My personal favorite of the bunch, based solely on looks, is the Pinarello Prince.

Half agreed - I wouldn't describe any of the carbon framesets as elegant. Good looking, yes. Elegant, no. (IMO)

Cheers,
Dim

mattp1975 said:

It's a shame bike manufacturer's struggle to produce elegant looking carbon frames.

If I understand your definition of "elegant" as my own, I'd definitely agree. Some of the more traditional designs are certainly more elegant than the Me Too designs you see nowadays with giant head tubes and sloping top tubes.

I do feel, however, that a lot of the "elegance" of an overall build depends on a lot of factors outside of the frame itself. For example, how proportional the rider's positioning allows the bike to be (i.e., stem angle, handlebar, seatpost height, stem stack height, etc.) and how "elegantly" coordinated the paint and color options are.

I've always preferred Pinarellos, Colnagos, Casatis, and the older OCLV Trek models as being traditional yet elegant in overall appearance. Again, depending on build and proportions....

tonyzackery said:

They're not carbon (titanium) and not elegant either...I'd say Sabbath's designer needs to take a sabbatical from bike design - a loooonnnnnggggg one at that...

they look ridiculous :eek: