Carbon Fiber Tubing with Wheels Isn't Necessarily a Good Bike

Weight – One of the main purposes for using carbon fiber instead of aluminum is to reduce the weight of the
bike. Designers have to consider how light they want a new bike to be.
Stiffness – The stiffness of a bike will determine how much energy its frame will be able to handle during a
typical ride. Stiffness affects everything from the overall strength of the bike to the amount of work the rider has
to put into peddling it.
Safety – It should be the goal of every bike maker to ensure that every bike that rolls out of its factory is safe. The
purpose of a given model is critical here. Bikes have to be designed to withstand purpose-determined loads and
stresses with very little risk of catastrophic failure.
Cost – Designers have to think of the full range of costs associated with building and selling a new model. Those
costs cover everything from prototyping to large-scale manufacturing.
Anybody can purchase carbon fiber tubing from Rock West Composites, cut it into sections, and create a bike frame out
of it. They can attach it to wheels, a handlebar, and a seat before riding off into the sunset. But there are no guarantees
that the bike will make it to the end of the street.
Bike makers owe it to their customers to create safe and sturdy bikes. Doing so starts with an understanding of
composite materials and their individual strengths and weaknesses.