Rizal Philippines
January 24, 2018
The post on carbon fiber bought by Ed de los Reyes from Lazada drew a number of comments, some of them expressing fear of breakage because it is from China I dare say, there is no need for worry.
The Toseek the TCTH brand in China might be trusted name all ready testing the Phil market.
Are you aware that FSA (Full Speed Ahead) GTS, SRAM are Taiwan based? And yet do you fear their failures. China manufacturing has come of age and many of their products can be trusted and are reliable. Sige matakot kayo. Enjoy lang kami ng murang piyesa.
1. What is carbon fiber material?
It is space material that is 3x lighter than steel but 3x stronger. It is made by impregnating carbon fiber with resin having this dried naturally or baked. Vacuum is employed to remove bubbles while the polymer is drying. It is very much doing things with fiber glass.
While it is very strong, it is also very brittle. We see formula cars breaking into small bits when they crash. The nice thing about carbon fiber is that it can be shaped, to any shape you want. The biggest source of carbon fiber is in Asia with most of the supply dominated by Toray, based in Japan
Properties of Carbon fiber
10 things you many not know about Carbon Fiber
2. Hence most of the carbon fiber supplier are also from Asia: 2/3 of world"s supply is from Mitsubishi. Toray is the most popular brand Taiwan and China. Most OEM suupliers are in Taiwan and China. OEM means original equipment manufacturer. They are outsourcing, subcontractor of say Italian or UK bike sellers/marketers: they make the frame in Taiwan with specs coming from UK or Italy OEM ship them back without label but maybe painted, and the branded supplier brands the frames. In other words, the technology to make the frame is in Taiwan and China
Asia Pacific supplied 40% of worlds carbon fiber with China and Japan leading the way followed by Taiwan and South Korea
Many bike manufacturers lack the capability to make carbon fiber parts/frames.
The most reliable and experienced carbon fiber parts manufacturer are from Taiwan and China. They have big factories molds and oven. They know what they are doing.
Making carbon fiber parts is not big deal. Again, it is like making fiber glass. I know of subcontractors who make carbon fiber exhaust for MC and exports them to Singapore. We have local manufacturers who make carbon wheels (carbo nation) CNC and many repairs are undertaken by them. What frames wheel set or components do they repair? China or orig? All breakdown. We see videos of carbon wheel set exploding as the riders run over a dog, or bikes disintegrating after a crash. Are they China made or original
Carbon fiber has an inherent weakness; it has a lot of bawal:
1. Heat
2. Pressure. Do not clamp the bike on a bike stand. So most breakdown occur at TT where the
bikes are held by bike stand;
3. Corrosion: where metal and carbon fiber meet as the attachment of water bottle and frame, the FD the seat post. Some say that it has 5 year expiry period What is the life span of carbon fiber frames? Most manufacturers give a five (5) year warranty. But most say especially the CF engineers that CF can actually last you a lifetime.
Some warning:
1. Avoid buying 2nd hand frame; sellers also do not give warranty; they cant warrnt anything on carbon
fiber
2. Avoid cf bikes used under too much stress: off road, rugged roads, racing. They are likely to be damaged at the stays. Inspect very carefully when buying.
3. Do not keep your bike in the car under the heat of the sun for long.
4. If you have carbon fiber bike, avoid cooking your brakes, whether it is aluminum or carbon brake line. The heat is likely to degrade the carbon fiber.
5. Some carbon frames might be heavier than alum or other alloy.
6. Watch for signs of corrosion especially where metal and carbon fiber meet: seat post, braze on on for FD. That is where due to galvanic corrosion, weakness, and cracks begin to appear
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