After watching way too man videos that randomly call out the fragility of carbon fiber for bicycle frames and other deeper dive videos that show the challenges when adding all that stuff that has to be attached to the material — particularly the entire problem with connecting in the bottom bracket — I want nothing to do with carbon on any bike I own. I’ll stick with my heavier steel frame and hold onto it for years until carbon actually catches up.
Consider that a carbon frame costs at least $2000 for any of the major brands (for just the frame). Now consider that a mishap dropping the bike or having it lean wrong against the wall or (heaven forbid) an actual crash on a gravel road will not only scratch the paint, it will splinter the carbon fibers destroying the entire frame. The possibility never even enters most people’s heads because it is so counter-intuitive. I’ve been riding metal my whole life and the consideration that a bike is several times more expensive would be destroyed with an otherwise minor mishap is just ridiculous. I’d rather have something that will last and put up with whatever I throw at it on the road, gravel, or occasional single track. So what if it weighs double what a carbon fiber frame does. Who really wants to have to baby their bike?
The worst thing I heard was from a carbon expert who has hundreds of frames and deals with carbon all the time. “Consumers are always cracking their their frame by over-tightening anything that has a connection point to the frame, seat post, handlebars, etc.” That’s nuts! He showed the dimpling where the quick-release goes and noted that through-axles are the way to go if you can to protect that weak spot. He said, “carbon drop-outs are the first thing I would stop people from making” if he could. Then he explained how the aluminum expands in head while carbon does not putting constant pressure on the epoxy that bonds the aluminum to the carbon at critical places in the bottom-bracket and elsewhere.
I feel a lot better about not needing to save for a carbon frame after that. Steel and aluminum frames are much cheaper and can even be repaired in a pinch. Carbon cannot.
Ironically, many pros are saying that bikes are getting too light and that they want the interia of a heavier frame on descents and in heavy winds. On a lighter bike all those watts invested to get you up to speed are immediately lost to a single gust of wind, not so with a heavier steel bike. For endurance riding that is a major consideration. Lighter is not always better. In fact, it’s causes me to assess my target weight a bit as well. 68 kilos is my target. Before I was thinking of going much lower, maybe even in the high 50s, to gain an advantage. I think I will be fine at the heavier weight and work to make sure that most of that weight is muscle and bone.