Why I don't like Carbon Fiber bikes

I started riding road bike about 8 years ago on a steel Nishiki cast off with down tube shifters and DUI brakes ... you know those funky duel lever brakes. Anyway I rode it for a couple months before making the jump to a steel frame Bianchi Brava with a Shimano Sora drive train. I rode it for about a year and a half. It was at this point I started lusting after Titanium Litespeeds. I made the jump shortly after. Then about 5 months into that ride I had a horrendous crash that very nearly killed me. Helicopter ride, Trauma Unit stay .. the whole nine yards. Broken bones, head trauma ... you name it. All I can say is I'm glad I'm not in some assisted living unit drooling into a cup.

In haist, I sold my beloved Litespeed convinced that I would never ride again.

During my very slow recovery as I started riding again I dawned on me that I should have never sold my Litespeed. I was resigned to the fact that I left the perfect one go but that I would get by on a lesser bike no problem. 

Well long story short, I bounced around from one bike to another never finding that feel I had on a Ti bike. I finally settled on a Specialized Roubaix .. you guessed it .. Carbon Fiber. It fit me really well and felt better that the Felt Aluminum bike I just dumped. I rode it for a year thinking it was OK .. just OK.

In the meantime, one of the guys I know that is a big carbon guy shows up with a crack running the length of his down tube! The story goes, this bike pretty much crumbled after hitting a pot hole! Crumbled! WTF!

About this time as I rode down Trindle road I came up on some gritty crap on the berm of the road. That's when I realized the true nature of of the material came to rear it's cheesy head. My CF bike felt like a spring! Screw this I said and sold it on Craigslist for what I paid for it.

In the meantime I found the identical Litespeed I had on eBay. The price was right as well. So I made the jump back. It took me awhile to tweak the fit and get a decent drive train under it (Campagnolo Record 10 speed).

After seeing what happens to CF under stress, hearing numerous stories, and reading other blogs. I'm convinced that CF bikes are just another in a long line of cycling fads.

Am I concerned that I will receive heat for my opinion? Heck no! I have one follower and I pretty sure they don't read what I write anyway.

So there. Screw your Carbon Fiber crap bike. It'll be in the landfill eons before my Ti bike.

MUSIC!

The Heavy 'How ya like me now?' Kind of fitting eh?