Buying a 10 year old carbon fiber bike?

Is this a bad idea?

I found a giant cadex 980 c. Its from 97 or 98.

I have a '91 Specialized Allez Epic (Specialized’s first go at CF) that I love. I’ve heard mixed reviews on safety.

Is that the awesome looking lugged carbon frame with the traditional diameter tubing that I love so much?

Yes. If I had a nice camera, I’d take a pic of it. Sorry.
It’s sorta visible in the mess thread

i totally would, but i also dont know anything about bikes.

id ride this in a heartbeat:

http://velospace.org/node/13575

It seems like something that would be interesting to own. This one isn’t lugged, but the cf tubes are joined by alu pieces. I think it has a nice look I’m not out looking for a cf bike, but I happened to find this one on craigslist. I wouldnt ride it every day. Just long weekend rides.

Its pretty much the same bike as this one on velospace.

http://velospace.org/node/3129

Yes. If I had a nice camera, I’d take a pic of it. Sorry.
It’s sorta visible in the mess thread
[/quote]
Man, that thing is so fucking awesome! It would look like something out of science fiction with a Wound Up fork on it.
Also, I’ve never seen brifters on bullhorns, how do you like that?

The problem with buying something that’s CF and used is that CF’s properties tend to deteriorate over time. It is inevitable that CF will break down and eventually catastrophically fail. What happens is you begin to get cracks in your matrix material, which aren’t a big deal at first, because they are stopped by the fibers. These cracks are due to cyclic stresses. Now after a period of time they will begin to move beyond the fiber and open up a little more, and a little more moving from one fiber to the next. At the end of it’s life cycle, if it is in use it’s going to fail pretty epically. I wouldn’t want to be going down little cottonwood canyon at 50mph and have my fork/top tube fail on me. The problem is, on something like this you can’t know how hard it was ridden, or how well it’s actually holding up. I personally would not go for the deal. But you could buy this bike and ride it safely for another 10 years, who knows.

my 2 cents.

Steal is real, and carbon doesn’t rhyme with anything at all.

Yes. If I had a nice camera, I’d take a pic of it. Sorry.
It’s sorta visible in the mess thread
[/quote]
Man, that thing is so fucking awesome! It would look like something out of science fiction with a Wound Up fork on it.
Also, I’ve never seen brifters on bullhorns, how do you like that?[/quote]

They feel great. I usually grip the shoulders so I actually prefer to have 'em there since I can actually reach the levers. I do want a new fork for it, but not as bad as I want an extracycle.

who bought the lugged carbon bike here in austin that i was looking at? wasn’t it one of you houston guys?

I hear the old skinny tubed carbon bikes were really noodly.

It’s my first road bike, so at the time of purchase, I didn’t mind not dealing with all the chatter. Now I feel it, but I’ve grown to really like it. I feel like it’s more of a symbiotic connection. This way I get the zen on my geared too.

Does bourbon rhyme with carbon or is that a stretch?

How about hard-on?

How about hard-on?[/quote]
hard on works!

Words and phrases that rhyme with carbon: (5 results)

2 syllables:
darbonne, farben, karban

4 syllables:
fluorocarbon, hydrocarbon

rhyming dictionary sort of fails

that means it is lugged. Also it’s not from '97.

They are incredibly flexy and known to fail catastrophically. If it’s cheap, it fits and wasn’t left out in the sun it could be a nice bike for relaxed rides though I ride one on occasion without worrying about it.

Wasn’t me.

they are.

on that note: i have an a team lemond carbon i’m looking to get rid of. the joints are fine, but there may be damage from the headset, which is shot. i have to replace it, and see what the lugs are like. also, the front derailleur broke. everything else is fine. size 55, 6 speed da. any takers?

Where you at?
Show me pix!!!