[RockAZ]

https://www.outsideonline.com/2311816/carbon-fiber-bike-accidents-lawsuits?

Yes, it is about bicycles, but as we see a lot more CF making its way onto motorcycles I thought this worth passing along.

 

[2004 999s]

carbon/

interesting article but no mention of counterfeit parts.before using something as carbon handlebars its worth knowing they come from a reputable seller.

 

[DaveK]

I keep an eye on this stuff because I have CF wheels (and having a CF wheel grenade would likely be very bad for my health)... The issue with CF is it's not a monolithic material, and construction is INCREDIBLY important to performance and reliability. BST and Rotobox both have really strong reputations for making reliable products, but because the products are new I suspect we'll learn more over time. For instance... I've seen reports of wheels failing due to heat (either from tire heaters or short pipe exhaust hitting a stationary rim for extended periods).

I'd not put a Chinese carbon fiber anything anywhere near a structural part on my bike. Farkle maybe... functional no way.

Westerners would be amazed at how many Chinese manufacturers have dirt floors. Sure they've got very high tech production too, but the counterfeit market in China is rampant (and it's their own damned fault). I'd not trust my life to even a quality Chinese product unless I could verify with 100% certainty that it's not a fake (which can be hard to do with items like this).

 

[RockAZ]

Even on quality made CF, it is very hard to detect damage under the paint.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/masy.201650015

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research

http://me.eng.sunysb.edu/~compmech/downloads/N29.pdf

I would not use CF for my wheels on my motorcycle.

 

[Sherpa23F]

I was a professional cyclist for years. I did testing and development for one of the world's best carbon bike manufacturers. I have broken carbon bikes. There are a lot of things made out of carbon that I refused to use on my bikes: primarily bars and stems. That said, I have never seen a well made carbon bike just fail catastrophically.

That said, reading the article, the lady bought a 5 year old bike that could have seen all kinds of use, abuse (could it have been on a roof rack and driven into a garage) and the fork (not the bike frame but the fork) broke at some point. The article didn't specify where it broke - was it the crown? The steerer tube? Did one of the legs shear? - but I take a lot of that with a grain of salt. When you buy a used bike anything could have happened to it and it's vitally important to check it over thoroughly.

Regarding motorcycles, there is a lot that I wouldn't use carbon fiber for. Carbon frames and swingarms are unlikely to have sudden, catastrophic failures but wheels, clip ons, and other things could go bad in a hurry and at motorcycle speeds, that's something to think about.

And just to be perfectly transparent here, knowing that I am still considering getting some BST wheels for a couple of my bikes.

 

[FreekiTiki]

I had a set of Dymag Carbon/Magnesium wheels about 18 years ago. These were on a 748. The hoops were carbon, and the wheels were crazy lightweight. The biggest issue was that one of the hoops would leak, and that would mean replacing the CF hoop because it usually had holes in the resin. After Dymag replaced a few hoops, I realized, that their molding process was probably not ready for such a safety critical part, and I stopped using them. Should have kept them as wall art, instead of including them with the sale of my bike.