[Chango]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

Huh. If the factories don't use carbon fiber frames in MotoGP, where the search for less weight is so paramount, why would I want one for the street, where potholes are bigger than mountains?

I could be wrong. It's happened once before...

Chango

 

[35244]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

I suppose the electrics would have to be set up like some of the Zooks - with all grounds returning to the battery.

Hmmmmm.

I spent may years providing a business service to a manufacture of aerospace composites - WOW - that stuff is ubercool to see in the mfg process. And not all of it is carbon, either.

Looking forward to living in the future! Without choppers, too.

 

[longride]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

Having personally broken bicycle frames that were carbon fiber while riding, I certainly wouldn't want to be on one of these when it decides to let loose at 80 mph. Not to mention that those bike frames were whippy as hell too. I can't imagine they getthe stiffness they need without making it brittle. I guess somebody has to be a test dummy for these things. I'll pass.

 

[nokneedragin]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

Does look pretty (for a chopper frame), I don't think I'll be seeing em at the rub hangouts. No self respecting modern true american male chopper rider would dare to show up on on some bastard use of technology. He knows the hard forged american steel is far superior to any plastic gimmickry atrocycly frame.

However, I think its cool that someones trying something different.

 

[Abe_Froman]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

An interesting idea for choppers, they're making everthing out of carbon fiber these days so might as well give it a go.

I remember seeing a Bimota up close at the motorcycle show several years ago that had the swingarm-pivot section of the frame done in a solid block of carbon fiber, bolted to the frame spars. It appeared to be so thick that I wonder if it was any lighter than the cast aluminum pieces that they use now but it sure looked cool.

 

[jungkvist]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

High-performance carbon-fiber frames for choppers?

I am not going to dignify this by reading it.

What next?

Carbon-fiber bowling balls?

How about, carbon-fiber coffee tables, those would certainly be useless.

Maybe, titanium dildos coated with carbon-fibre, inlayed with fibre-optics that glow in different patterns; flames, tribal, paisley, etc...depending on your mood.

The mind bobbles at the limitless-stupility of the human mind, and the market place.

 

[longride]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

I disagree. Most guys on the tour use carbon bikes for time trials and climbing stages, NOT for road stages. They use different bikes for different races. Carbon frames are NOT stiffer than steel. Ever. They are even whippy for the greyhound tour riders that ride them. They are lighter, which is why they are used for time trials and climbing stages. Plus, tour riders aren't going to ride those bikes for more than one month, so they aren't subject to the same stresses as a person would put on them over 3 or 4 years.

 

[kpaul]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

Man longride what are you doing to your bikes. I had a Trek 2100 for years that I rode hundreds of miles a week. i.e. I was training for the Seattle to Portland ride. I had it for several years until it was ripped off in Fort Lauderdale. I now have a Trek alum bike. I don't think any of the riders in the Tour are using steel. Maybe alum maybe titanium but most definitely carbon fiber. I loved my carbon fiber bike strong, naturally damped to vibration unlike aluminum.

 

[trumant]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

If you had read the story you would see that I feel pretty much the same way you do. Choppers clearly aren't performance focused machines, so the only reason I can imagine why someone would drop 15 large on such a monstrosity is for looks alone.

 

[46196]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

Carbon Fiber is amazingly strong. I could see why they would need it to prop up their fat a$$es. I imagine it's not about shedding weight, obviously there are better places to start.

 

[kpaul]

longride won't fly on 787

"The body of the 7E7 will be a seamless, rivetless, one-piece barrel of carbon-fiber composite that has more strength and lighter weight than conventional materials. It will be the "first passenger jet produced largely from the same kind of reinforced plastic used to make golf club shafts."

more...

 

[49959]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

"NOT stiffer than steel. Ever." That really depends on how you define stiffness. Carbon fiber is really strong axially, and any composite is strong in whatever direction the fibers run. Generally people only lay up the fiber in one plane, so it is only "stiff" under certain conditions. Which is beautiful if you have a lot of stress in only a few directions. The great thing is you can tweak them to do odd things, like lengthen under torsion, or be able to take unbelievable torqe but bend like rubber. I heard of one project where a guy is adding piezoelectric fibers to the carbon and trying to make it move like a fish flipper just by modulating the voltage.

 

[49959]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

LOL, great point.

 

[33225]

Carbon Conducts

Actually no. Carbon fiber is an excellent conductor. We found this out the hard way when I was building 4 wheeled racers as school projects (mechanical engineering projects are cool!). We were having hell with our electrics until we figured out we were shorting through the frame! Instead of grounding to the frame we had to carefully insulate all our electrical conductors. We didn't want to count on grounding through the frame, since the original wiring plan had called for all return to a grounding strip next to the battery. If you planned it that way from the get go I don't see any reason why you couldn't ground all your electrics through the frame.

 

[35244]

Re: Carbon Conducts

Thanks for the info, Steve. It is Friday and I learned something - a good day!

 

[acecycleins]

Being a GA boy, I am familiar with Revolution and they build a quality product. I'm sure they've done stress test to insure rigidity since the majority of the bikes they build tend to use larger v-twin motors (lotsa torque, ya know). The electrics would be the biggest question. Other than that, it would make a hell of a chopper. Just wish the tank were shaped a little differently.

 

[5117]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

Carbon frames are so weak and whippy that nearly 100% of the top riders are riding bikes that are almost completely carbon.

Carbon bikes are so weak and prone to failure that companies like Trek offer lifetime warranties on all their carbon frames.

 

[seruzawa]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

Two for one! Good job!

 

[seruzawa]

Re: Carbon Conducts

It depends on the impedance of carbon fiber. It may be conductive enough to cause problems but still resist current enough to be inadequate as a conductor. Resistors used in electronics are usually made from carbon.

Anyone have data on carbon fiber's conductivity?

 

[Neal]

Re: Carbon Fiber Frames

Remember that in the high dollar chopper world form is more important than function.If it functions as good (or even almost as good)as other frames and it looks different enough to set you apart in the show arena,its worth the money to you----IF you are aHigh dollar chopper type guy. Me personally---I would go the low tech ,low dollar,low visual impact route but I enjoy looking.This is definitely a neat idea for someone looking for a leg up on the competition.