Off-the-Shelf Carbon - Part 2

Paul Harvey was famous for saying "And now, the rest of the story." So, here we continue with the rest of our examination of all things off-the-shelf carbon. 

In my last post I talked about all the things that go into a carbon frame. You have the carbon, the resins, the layup and so on. I also talked about the extent to which a manufacturer will go to insure safety and compliance of the finished products, which is a big deal. Let's deconstruct each of these elements. 

Carbon Fiber: I am no engineer, but I know enough to tell you that there is not just one type of carbon fiber material. Much like aluminum or steel, carbon fiber has a myriad of grades and types. There are carbon fibers that have never been twisted, and there are some that have. There are different strand lengths, different weaves and so on. Take a look at this chart, which comes from a carbon factory in Alabama. Unless you are a highly skilled engineer you probably don't know how to apply any of these types of carbon to the production of a bicycle. Yes, the better bicycle manufacturers will use more than one type of carbon fiber in the layup of a bicycle. Why? So that the bike flexes where they want it and is stronger where it needs to be. 

Resin: Think of this as the glue that holds all the carbon fibers together in a sheet. It's also the glue that holds multiple sheets of carbon together. Did you know that resin's have a "best by" kind of date associated with them? Maybe you did. The point is that the resin that holds your carbon fiber bike together is just as critical as the carbon fibers themselves. Again I'm no engineer, but I do know that resins that sit to long and aren't kept in environmentally controlled conditions can lead to product integrity issues down the line. Hence, like a lot of things the resin's used in carbon need to be monitored throughout the supply chain. 


Engineering: Composites engineers don't come cheap and many bicycle brands don't have the budgets to keep one on staff. The big brands like Trek, Specialized, Giant, Focus and some others certainly have among the best composite engineers money can buy on their staff. But, what about a smaller brand? Many smaller, credible brands certainly have engineers on staff that are fluent in the geometries and physics of a bicycle. So, what they do when engineering a carbon fiber bicycle is work closely with their manufacturing partners in Asia (maybe Eastern Europe) that have a composites engineer on staff. This is a pretty common practice and is more than acceptable. 

The more reputable brands, those who might not have the volume of carbon bike sales to support a composites engineer, typically know what they want in terms of handling and comfort. So, they work closely with the engineers on the other end to create designs and layups that deliver the desired bike. Sometimes they'll create an entirely new bike (a mold) that has a proprietary shape to it. Sometimes they'll take an existing (off-the-shelf) mold the manufacturer has already developed and modify specific elements of the shape to make it more proprietary. Or they'll use an existing mold the manufacturer owns to save tooling costs, which add-up quickly when you consider all the frame sizes.

Here's where we go back to our Ford Mustang in the dark example. The shape of the thing does not always indicate the quality of the thing. Heck, Parlee's are boring to look at and it's conceivable that someone could make an incorrect judgement about their quality based on their "boring" shape. And they'd be wrong, right? It's not logical to conclude that if something looks "off-the-shelf" that it is somehow inferior in terms of its quality, workmanship and engineering. There are questions that need to be asked.

Compliance and Testing: People might assume that if a brand is selling a carbon bike frame or part that it must meet all applicable compliance regulations. Ok, which set of regulations are being followed and are they properly applied and interpreted for the specific product? There are European compliance standards, there are Asian compliance standards and there are US compliance standards. The European compliance standards are by far the toughest, but they don't cover everything and in some cases don't make sense for certain products. While developing the Whisky thru-axle disc road forks the engineer discovered that there were no guidelines for testing disc brakes within the road bike standards. Kind of makes sense. Until this year road bikes didn't have disc brakes. 

So, what did the engineers at Whisky do to make sure their new fork was safe (and compliant)?  First, they applied the mountain disc standard to the fork to make sure the lower part of the fork was strong enough. Second, they applied the road standards to the rest of the fork. The road standards are tougher than mountain. Don't ask... The point is that the engineers at Whisky could have tested to the road standard and called it a day. The fork would have passed and been compliant in accordance with the European standards they tested against. Remember this, compliance does not equal safety. The engineer at Whisky (Anna Schwinn. Yes, a legitimate Schwinn) demanded that fork be tested above and beyond the current standards to insure both compliance and safety. Smart! 

So, who determines if a product is compliant? There are tests outlined in the compliance regulations, but how they are to be administered is subjective. Yes, subjective. More on that in tomorrow's post: Off-the-Shelf Carbon - Part 3.  

Off-the-Shelf Carbon - Part 1

I don't follow many online forums, nor do I read many comments people post to news articles on a variety of cycling "news" websites. Why? I think it has something to do with all the misinformation and opinion (spun as fact) that gets tossed around. Don't get me wrong, people are entitled to their opinions and I support a person's right to free speech. I just wish some people would dig a little deeper, listen a little harder and ask the right questions before they assume they "know" something. 

There seems to be a lot of sensitivity around the idea of off-the-shelf products bicycle brands sell into the market. Saying something is off-the-shelf is essentially the kiss-of-death in some peoples minds, even if they don't have all the facts. Hence, there are a number of people posting comments as if they know something they might not. The belief that something perceived to be or even known to be off-the-shelf somehow makes a product inferior simply isn't true. There are more questions that need to be asked, many people might not even think about or consider. 

Consider this, Ford makes the Mustang and in the dark of night you likely cannot tell which package it's stocking under the hood. It could be the run-of-the-mill V6 or it could be the Shelby GT, right? Hence, from the shape of the car you can't always tell what it's packing inside. And we all know that what's under the hood makes a huge difference. 

Let's apply our Ford example to carbon bike frames and parts. You might want to avoid assuming that the shape of the thing is an absolute indicator of how it's made - what's under the hood, if you will. Nor should you make assumptions about it's overall quality, the integrity of the manufacturer or its safety. 

Yes, there truly are a number of inexpensive carbon frames, parts and accessories that are widely available on Ebay and other retail websites. And yes, in some cases they may be constructed using lower quality forms of carbon fiber and resins. Yes, they may have funky geometries and odd features because the engineers designing them aren't always cyclists (or proportioned like many Westerner's). And yes, you might just get what you pay for...but, maybe you'll get more than you expected too. 

So, what about the companies (brands) that actively advertise their products, sell them through distributors or maybe through a known retail website, that you suspect (or claim) just buy their products from some foreign factory and slap their logo on it, claiming it as their own? This is where it gets tricky, and harder to know what's under the hood. 

Here's the skinny. There are several types of carbon, different tonnages, different resins, different manufacturing techniques, different quality controls, different layups and so on. Then there are the different testing standards for different countries, varying philosophies on  how many frames or parts need to be tested to determine compliance and safety. Then you have the testing facilities that do the testing, and in some cases you have manufacturers who self-certify their test results and more. Ugh! 

What does all this mean? I'll begin to explain it to you tomorrow in Part 2 of this article. 

Road Bikes with Disc Brakes

One thing is for certain, disc brakes are coming to road bikes. You know the trend is something more than a fad when the legendary Colnago produces a disc brake version of their top-of-the-line C59 bicycle. From elite manufacturers to the run-of-the-mill Asian frame the sprint to bolt disc brakes onto road bikes has begun.

The performance benefits of disc brakes are well documented, mountain bikes have been running them for years. They offer better performance in all conditions. Aside from brake pad wear they're virtually maintenance free. And they're light. 

On the road, disc brakes will allow rim manufacturers to eliminate the brake track on their rims. That means potentially less material required in that part of the rim, which would translate into less rotational weight. And it means not having to manage heat from brake pads that often wreak havoc on carbon fiber. Not to mention eliminating the home science experiment of finding the right brake pads for your carbon rims, if you're running carbon rims. Sounds good, right?

Now for the rest of the story... 

Disc brakes are no joke. It seems simple enough, adding a disc brake to a carbon road fork. Well, it's not. And here's why. 

Torque: The forces a disc brake applies to a carbon road fork are very different from a traditional rim brake. With brakes being mounted near the axle the fork leg needs to be reinforced (strengthened) to compensate for the torque being applied to it. And it's not just the left leg that needs to be reinforced, it's both. I pray that the run-of-the-mill producers of carbon road disc forks have figured this out. When the caliper grabs the disc brake rotor the entire fork wants to twist under the load. Again, if the fork isn't designed properly it will twist to some degree and that means handling can be compromised. The engineers at Colnago figured this out and designed their carbon disc forks to manage the load appropriately. The folks at Whisky Parts Co. also knew this would be a problem and opted for a thru-axle to unify the fork legs. Thus, they eliminated the problem. 

Testing and Compliance: There are no safety or testing standards for carbon road disc forks yet. It's up to the manufacturer of the fork (or the brand buying it off-the-shelf) to blend standards to determine if the fork is safe. And there's absolutely no protocol for twisting legs under disc brake applications. The scary thing is that some off-the-shelf brands don't actually validate testing from their source manufacturer, they accept a report (often written in Chinese) that claims the fork has passed road compliance standards. The challenge there is that you're not actually sure if they've applied the mountain standards for disc brakes to their testing protocol. 

Brake Pads: As Tyler from BikeRumor.com learned the hard way, don't assume the brake pads in your caliper are applicable to all riding conditions. Consumers demand quiet brakes. So, manufacturers often specify semi-metallic or organic compound brake pads for the brakes they're installing on a complete bike. And should you buy aftermarket brakes they likely come with semi-metallic brake pads installed. My point is simple, know what brake pads (the compound and it's intended uses) are in your calipers before you ride. Organic pads and 140mm rotors on the steep mountain roads of the Rockies or Smokies are probably a bad idea. The compound isn't designed to manage that much heat. And as Tyler learned you can burn through your pads pretty quickly and loose all braking ability, if you're not careful. 

I'm not suggesting that disc brakes are unsafe. What I am suggesting is that you know your equipment. Most riders will probably never have a problem with their forks or brakes. All I'm suggesting is that you ask the questions and keep yourself informed. 

Are disc brakes on road bikes a good idea? Yes, they are. Does it pay you to know your equipment and not to assume? Yes, it does. 

I don't see many companies talking about these issues or educating their customers around disc brake usage, maintenance or set-up on road bikes. If it were me, I'd have service and sales bulletins going out to every dealer, all the sales people and anyone else I could think to include. Why? Because rather than avoiding the issue or underplaying it I'd prefer to be the leader in the conversation. Take ownership, lead the way and show your customers that you're on their side. Simple.  

Another Project

It's a cool feeling when you dream up a bike project. Then you pull together all the parts to build it. Riding it and wearing out the parts comes next with a huge smile on your face. Then you find something to upgrade because a bike is never really complete, right? You work on it some more and you repeat the process. Bike love!

I don't know how many bikes I've built, ridden and later sold over the years. Honestly, I almost love assembling bikes more than I like riding them. There's just something I love about mapping-out a bike build in my mind. The great thing about the cycling industry are all the options. What color scheme will I choose. What group will I run. Will it be a 1x9, a 2x10 or something more traditional like a 3x9. What fork will I use. How much am I willing to invest in this project. The list of things to think about goes on and on.

Having worked in the cycling industry my entire adult life I have a deep appreciation for the work Product Managers do. Building a cohesive product line for a bicycle brand is one part science and one part art. Product Managers must pay attention to the trends in the industry and within the larger cycling community. But, they must also be trend setters that use their personal style and preferences to put a unique stamp on their products. There are good product managers and there are not-so-good product managers out there. The good product managers are willing to take chances on something new or somehow different. Good product managers understand that part of their job is help advance the sport and related technology. And when they have an idea they find a way to make it happen. 

Here's a great example. Ben the Product Manager for Whisky Parts Co. (a brand I helped launch) had an idea to advance the proliferation of disc brakes on road and cyclocross bikes. Ben knew that most modern road and cross bikes use carbon forks and that they weren't designed with disc brake forces in mind. Rather than overbuilding the left fork blade to manage the forces of a disc brake he had another idea. Why not run a thru-axle system instead...Huh? It's a lighter system than a typical QR. It's safer than a typical QR. And it unifies the fork legs, which leads to a whole host of performance improvements. Bam! Differentiation is key and Ben found a way to achieve that while also producing a superior product. Bravo!

The cycling industry has always been one that thrives on innovation. Without innovation, new ideas and risks the sport of cycling would most certainly become stagnate and slide into decline. For those of us that work in the industry we need to continually produce fresh ideas that often drive to incompatibilities with older products. Yes, drive incompatibilities with aging products. 

If you think about it, we need to give the cycling consumer a reason to buy the latest, the greatest, the most cool products. And thank goodness for making things incompatible because it's a big part of why people need to buy something new. This is how we keep the economic engine of the cycling industry spinning round and round.