Care and feeding of carbon fiber?
LF
fiber tubes with aluminum lugs. It's destined to become a fixed-gear
bike. I've read about the potential failures with this construction,
but it seems solid to the LBS specialized dealer and to me
This is my first cf bike. Anything I need to know about cleaning and
protecting cf? I'd like to protect it with probably a coat of wax.
Thanks,
Larry
Werehatrack
Others will have additional observations...
Some greases may attack the resin; don't grease the seatpost with
anything that Specialized doesn't explicitly endorse for that purpose.
Don't let headset grease slop into the head tube.
For protective wax, most automotive waxes can be used as long as they
don't have abrasives in them; anything that says "cleaner" or "polish"
probably has some abrasive content.
With a fixie, as long as you keep the chain taut, there's very little
else to be concerned about IMO...though putting something like a
lizard skin on the right chainstay "just in case" isn't a bad idea.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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Andrew F Martin
Phil-Wood fixey hub?
LF
special one. I think with some careful measurements, mathematics,
fixed-gear charts, a half-link, trial and error, and a bit of luck, it
will work. Of course, a dremmel might come in handy too.
Regards,
Larry
Luke
<fie...@gmail.com> wrote:
This bike's CF chainstays are very vulnerable to damage from a fixed
gear chain derailment and/or jamming. That, along with its vertical
drops and the challenges they pose to achieving and maintaining optimal
chain tension prompt me to question the wisdom of using this frame for
a fixed gear bike.
Luke
Andrew F Martin
Nate Knutson
There are very times when a derailment on a fixed gear doesn't carry a
strong risk of seriously messing the RIDER up. That's more important,
and any fixie with something going on that makes derailment
significantly likely shouldn't be ridden. However, with a correctly set
up and maintained fixed drivetrain this isn't more of an issue than any
other freak mechanical failure - to which fixed gears are inherently
less prone anyway.
Various places on the net, there are programs that calculate gear
combinations for single-cog, tensionerless, vertical dropout setups
that allow for a tensioned chain. The good solution, however, is to use
an ENO hub.
Nate Knutson
Luke
Nate Knutson <bike...@riseup.net> wrote:
> There are very times when a derailment on a fixed gear doesn't carry a
> strong risk of seriously messing the RIDER up. That's more important,
> and any fixie with something going on that makes derailment
> significantly likely shouldn't be ridden. However, with a correctly set
> up and maintained fixed drivetrain this isn't more of an issue than any
> other freak mechanical failure - to which fixed gears are inherently
> less prone anyway.
The term 'strong risk' is open to interpretation, and though I've never
been injured from a derailment I yield your point. However, my
experience is that sometimes what makes a derailment 'significantly
likely' can be nothing more than an uneven road surface taken at a
certain speed with a specific force or lack thereof on the pedals.
Though rare (my FG is ridden most everyday; derailment rate is approx.
1/year), I wonder if it's accurate to characterize a chain derailment
on a fixie as a 'freak mechanical failure'. To me, it's a fact of life,
albeit one occurring infrequently, when the FG is ridden regularly on
typical roads - at least as typical roads are consituted around here.
I've had properly set chains derail through an unhappy confluence of
unremarkable factors (usually encountered while descending bumpy hills
with no tension on the chain's top run).
The OP's correctly setting and maintaining the drivetrain is
constrained by the vertical dropouts. Even assuming that a half-link
and discernment in chainring/cog choices initially provide ideal chain
tension, it will only deteriorate with wear; there's no recourse to
improvement save for replacement of components. IMO this poses a
significant obstacle to meeting the qualification of a 'correctly set
and maintained fixed drivetrain'.
>
> Various places on the net, there are programs that calculate gear
> combinations for single-cog, tensionerless, vertical dropout setups
> that allow for a tensioned chain. The good solution, however, is to use
> an ENO hub.
I agree an eccentric hub for this project is definitely a better choice.
Luke
russell...@yahoo.com
I have a friend riding one of those Specialized frames. Riding it
since mid to early 1990s. He weighs 225 at his skinniest. The bike
more or less lives in the back of his pickup. Its never seen an ounce
of kindness or care. It looks ratty. But it still works fine. About
the only care you need to give it is to not intentionally cut the tubes
in half with a hacksaw.
Alex Rodriguez
fie...@gmail.com says...
>I'm the proud owner of a new-to-me Specialized Epic Allez, carbon
>fiber tubes with aluminum lugs. It's destined to become a fixed-gear
>bike. I've read about the potential failures with this construction,
>but it seems solid to the LBS specialized dealer and to me
Nice frame. I currently have one of these, the second I have owned, waiting
to be built up. Only the early models of this frame had issues with the
dissimilar materials coming apart. The later models are better in that
respect.
>This is my first cf bike. Anything I need to know about cleaning and
>protecting cf? I'd like to protect it with probably a coat of wax.
Nothing special. The tubes have a clear coat, so it is just like any other
painted bike. Wash and wax as usual.
--------------
Alex