A Journey into Carbon Bike Parts
From a Clydesdale’s perspective
0 - Introduction
As a cyclist at 6'2" and 210lbs, my experience with carbon parts might be a little different than expected, as these components don’t typically have the Clydesdale or Athena body in mind at the centre of their design.
Premium bike components are, to a certain extent, optimized for athletes. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t benefit you if you don’t have an “athletic body type”, but there are some things you should take into account.
In this article, I will walk through my experience with a carbon frame, a carbon wheelset, and a carbon stem.
TL;DR version: I don’t regret it. If you can afford it, go for it, but YMMV. A wheel upgrade instead of a carbon frame might be a good middle-ground for performance gains, but premium carbon wheels can be just as expensive as a new bike.
1 - What Sold me on Carbon
…I did make it up the climb after barely breaking a sweat.
Before even giving any serious thought to carbon, I’ve ridden at least 10,000km on my aluminum bike over several years. I could never fathom why I’d ever need carbon, nor imagine who buys these things (pros are technically sponsored to ride them).
My journey into carbon all started with walking into a premium brand local bike shop with my partner. We had no serious intention; we were only there for novelty, the same way a couple might walk into an open-house event for a Vancouver home they could never afford. As a result of great salesmanship, we were convinced to take a free test ride on a pair of their cheapest bikes: the 2018 Cervélo R2.
During our 90-minute test ride, I made sure to tackle a local climb that I frequent, which always leaves me huffing and puffing for breath, even after years of practice. This bike was different though. While I didn’t time the ride, which usually took me about 10 minutes, I did make it up the climb after barely breaking a sweat. My partner was also impressed with the night-and-day difference with her commuter bike.
Over the next 2 years, I couldn’t stop thinking about that Cervélo, each time I hauled my 28lbs aluminum bike up these climbs. Some of these everyday climbs are 30 blocks in length, so I had a lot of time to think.
2 - Carbon Frame
On the 28lbs aluminum bike, getting out of the saddle for a sprint felt very natural; its excessive weight matched my own excess weight.
After a lot of thought, research, chance and coincidence, I purchased a Cervélo C2 at $1,000 less than MSRP, as a shop retired the one-year-old rental bike to make the sale. The choice of C2 over R2 came down to disc brakes at the same price range. As a Clydesdale who rides in the forever-rainy Pacific Northwest, with many downhill sections crossing city traffic, disc brakes are imperative.
2.1 - Geometry matters too
Unlike the R2, the C2 has dropped seat stays, meaning that comfort takes precedence over stiffness — and a little bit of power transfer is lost as a result of the flex from a less rigid, less diamond-shaped frame structure. I could feel this difference in the climbs and while sprinting, but it was still very responsive to my input at the cranks.
My aluminum bike does not have dropped seat stays; the rear of the frame is shaped like an upright isosceles triangle. Despite having a more rigid geometric structure, it still does not feel as stiff and responsive as the carbon bike — though they are still comparable.
2.2 - Gearing and weight
Given that the aluminum bike has 50/34 and 11–32 gearing and the carbon bike has 50/34 and 11–30 gearing (both donning the Shimano 105 11spd groupset), those two extra teeth on the aluminum bike don’t quite make up for its extra 8lbs of heft. On a challenging climb, another 2 teeth are welcome — no matter which of the two bikes I’m currently on.
An 8lbs difference is a lot on a bike, but if you’re 30lbs “overweight”, a carbon bike is only going to make things marginally easier. Lower gearing is probably going to help more than a lighter bike, second to losing rider weight.
2.3 - Stability and weight
The thing about a 210lbs rider on top of a lightweight bike is stability. When coasting downhill at break-neck speeds, a bike of only 20lbs underneath my large body feels unbalanced. This is because your centre of gravity is a bit higher when you have a lighter base.
A higher bottom bracket can also add to this feeling, though the BB is lower on the carbon bike, so it is the lighter weight of this bike which makes for this imbalance.
On the 28lbs aluminum bike, getting out of the saddle for a sprint felt very natural; its excessive weight matched my own excess weight. I feel very much like “being one with the bike” as if it were an extension of the body. When I’m full-sprinting using my arms to “pull the bike into my feet”, I feel the bike’s weight pull back as if to meet with my upper-body strength. On the carbon bike, it feels much more like whipping it around like a rag doll.
2.4 - Comfort
It’s widely known that carbon has better absorption of vibrations than aluminum, just as it’s known that wider tires also give you less vibration. Despite having only 28C tires on the carbon bike, and 32C tires on the aluminum bike, the carbon bike shows a noticeable difference in dampening high-frequency vibrations on a rough concrete road or tightly packed gravel.
3 - Carbon Wheels
“Wow” is a good word to start with.
On entry-level to mid-tier carbon bikes, it’s common to find inexpensive alloy wheels. Having taken a look at many bikes in the $5,000–6,000 (CAD) range, many of them come with stock wheels that you can get for $400 new if you know where to look. With wheels being one of the most significant upgrades for a bicycle, it’s quite a shock that the wheels make less than 10% of the bike’s cost.
Being an entry-level bike, my Cervélo C2 was a great example. One of the most prominent online reviews of my bike made it a point to note how the mediocre wheelset was holding back an otherwise good bike. And I felt what they were talking about on my rides.
After 2 years of research, I had finally chosen a wheelset that would match my needs. As a Clydesdale, I wanted to factor in everything: depth, inner width, outer width, spoke count, spoke strength, hub engagement, soundcheck, weight, and most importantly, warranty. This topic is a story on its own.
The most notable thing is that most brands have a maximum supported weight for carbon rims. This doesn’t mean they will fail catastrophically if you exceed the limit by a little bit, but it does require extra maintenance by a professional, otherwise, I’m not sure if they’re obliged to honour the warranty. Gravel wheels tend to have a higher weight limit, but might not be what you’re looking for as they’re neither designed primarily for lightweight, nor aerodynamics.
I ended up choosing a local wheel builder because none of the prominent value carbon brands could suit all of my needs. It’s been almost a year since this purchase, and I am still just as pleased today as I was with the first ride.
3.1 - Performance
“Wow” is a good word to start with. I can’t tell if it’s from engineering success, or simply from the euphoria of the many sensory factors: how incredibly awesome they look, the sound of the air passing around them as they glide through the wind, or how smooth it feels in response to each pedal stroke. At this point, I don’t even care if the benefit is mostly psychological, because the end result is that they do feel leaps and bounds faster over my alloy wheels, but it’s very difficult to quantify in scientific terms, given so many variables have changed.
3.2 - Aerodynamics
Nothing much to say on aero gains, as I’ve chosen 35mm deep rims. This is a small advantage over 23mm, but not large enough to get caught in crosswinds, especially with U-shaped rather than a V-shaped design. Just as notable is the rim width. A 29mm outer width pairs well with the 28mm tires. This takes the edge off the aero drag one will get from a “light bulb shape” of having tires wider than your rims.
Since, supposedly, aero gains are best seen above certain speeds, it doesn’t matter much to me because I rarely have a flat section to safely ride on for maintaining those speeds. Downhill doesn’t count, because I’m not doing any work to maintain that speed.
3.3 - Weight and stiffness
This wheelset is 1.5lbs lighter than the stock alloy wheels, and at least 2lbs lighter than the wheels on the aluminum bike. Given how much I weigh, this probably doesn't make much of a difference in climbing if you’re not racing. However, the wheels are much more responsive, and that is likely due to the stiffness of the carbon material and also the spoke selection.
If you’re a heavier rider, I’d recommend stiff spokes with 28H rims, over lightweight spokes and 20/24H rims. The additional spoke count and stiffness will be slightly heavier and less comfortable, but the durability and the directness of the power transfer will be worth it.
What livens up the responsiveness of a wheel is also the hub engagement. This has nothing to do with carbon vs. alloy, but if you’re dropping serious cash on wheels, you may as well make sure the hubs are of great quality. My choice of hubs has 120 points of engagement, which is 3 degrees maximum before the hub engages — some hubs can take up to 15 degrees.
3.4 - Comfort
Comfort can indirectly feed right back into performance, because less time spent bracing for turbulence, means more time spent on efficient pedal strokes.
The road vibrations are muted even further than what the carbon frame offered, but this didn’t make bad roads now feel good. Moderately bumpy concrete, no problem. Potholes, deep cracks and divots: better, but still best to avoid.
3.5 - Repeat Purchase
I’m so impressed with my first set of carbon wheels, that I’ve ordered another set for my aluminum bike, as it’s still fun to ride. I’m hoping that the positive experience transfers over to the aluminum bike as well.
4 - Carbon Seatpost
I’m definitely going to get another one for the aluminum bike…
Despite the carbon frame and carbon wheels making a noticeable difference, hitting the occasional pothole or poorly-conditioned road can still be harsh. That is until I’ve made the cheapest carbon investment: the seatpost.
After a lot of research, I concluded that the fi:zik Cyrano R0 seatpost was the one for me. Almost exactly as an online reviewer described, patches of road that you’d normally avoid, you can just roll right over them without feeling any harshness. I was skeptical upon reading this until I’ve tried it for myself.
I’m surely going to get another one for the aluminum bike, as the jolts of hitting bumps are starting to get to me, especially now compared to my all-carbon bike.
5 - Honorable Mentions
I’ve considered and researched some of these, but haven’t opened up my wallet.
5.1 - Carbon Forks
Seen on many titanium bikes and some aluminum bikes. This will give a similar vibration dampening effect as the carbon seatpost, but on your front contact points rather than the rear. Would like to try, but my Cromoly steel forks already have such a handsome colour, and aside from the weight difference, Cromo does a good job.
5.2 - Carbon Stem
Recently, I legitimately needed a longer stem, but wanted to look at lighter options with vibration dampening properties while I’m at it. Most carbon stems I’ve found online were heavier than my stock alloy stem, and multiples more expensive than the better alloy stems you can find. This is partly because some of these carbon stems are carbon-coated alloys.
You can find pure carbon stems, but for an even steeper price, it wasn’t attractive for someone of my weight and upper-body strength in a sprint. A stem failure would be catastrophic mid-ride.
The fi:zik Cyrano R1 stem is a reasonably priced alloy stem, which is at 130mm still lighter than my stock 110mm stem. It has been good to me so far.
5.3 - Carbon Handlebars
This is a “nope” for me. If carbon shatters in a crash, guess what’s likely the first thing that hits the ground when your bike goes down? I’ve crashed my aluminum bike a couple of times, and the handlebars bore most of the brunt. Since the bars are alloy, technically only the bar tape and hoods/levers are the victims.
A cracked handlebar might not be visibly evident at first, which would make it catastrophic if you kept riding for it to only fail later at high speeds.
5.4 - Misc. Carbon
Carbon pedals, carbon cranksets, carbon saddles, carbon spokes, carbon bottle cages, carbon shifters, carbon OSPWs — if you know what all of these are you probably don’t need any further explanation; you are probably a weight weenie.
6 - Diehard Hate for Carbon
Some buy premium bikes despite not being able to afford them without making sacrifices.
In the cycling community online, I’ve found a surprising amount of hate towards those who have had the privilege of obtaining carbon road bikes, as if by owning one you are inherently a bad person, or not deserving of respect. On the opposite end, I’ve definitely witnessed snobby remarks from a number of those who own elite brand names.
The topic of carbon bikes can divide a community that should be banding together to help stop preventable deaths. If only it were easy to put our energy towards a positive outcome.
6.1 - Disposable Income vs Passion
It’s hard to imagine there are some with one bike that costs upwards of $15,000 USD, while others are happy with their 10 bikes at only a few hundred bucks each. We shouldn't judge, nor should we have to justify ourselves to others.
Some can afford premium bikes because they have an excess of disposable income (which doesn’t automatically make them bad people but does make them hateable). Some buy premium bikes despite not being able to afford them without making sacrifices. Conversely, I’ve seen many selling off their premium bikes for extra cash during the pandemic. Some just know where to find a good deal, like buying from those who are forced to sell. Others, perhaps don’t spend as much on houses, cars, electronics etc.
What drives people to spend excess on bikes in hopes to ride faster, further, and longer, is their love for the sport. Some might find themselves disappointed that you can’t buy what building strong legs and cardio can give you for free. Others may fall deeper in love with cycling after these purchases. That is not to say that loving what you already have, an old trusty steed, is less admirable in any way.
It’s up to the individual to choose what they find value in, and how much they want to invest or sacrifice for it.
Conclusion
Losing weight (without losing too much muscle) will get you better results than buying carbon bike parts.
I might be slightly overweight and undertalented, but cycling is a passion that I’m happy investing into because it adds value to my life.
At one point I was convinced that carbon would “take my cycling to the next level” — which is funny because I don’t even compete. While my knowledge of bike parts, maintenance and mechanics has doubled, this is not what I originally intended. I’m roughly at the same fitness level. Sure, I can do more with less effort, but any saved effort is spent on pushing to go even harder, which actually burns me out just as fast if not more.
My years-long recurring strain/overuse injuries have subsided a little since the carbon bike does make it easier. Though they will flare back up when I push too hard, which is often when you’re on such a bike that encourages speed.
Losing weight (without losing too much muscle) will get you better results than buying carbon bike parts. This only applies to the overweight. If you’ve tried that but were only able to keep the weight off for a year, that’s because restrictive diets suck and cannot be sustained if you’re a connoisseur of various culinary arts. Food brings me as much joy as cycling does.
If I could go back I would change only a little, if only to get to a similar end result, but with less pain. For a budget-friendly redo, I’d probably go carbon seatpost first, then wheel upgrade, then new bike or frame.