Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
itaa
Posts: 50
Joined: 13 Mar 2017, 10:33pm

Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by itaa »

Got a mint (except few stoneships) Scott solace 30 flat bar road bike, came up locally for a good price.
I'm used to 15kg BSOs in past which I could trash & abuse ,leave barely locked for days and loan to other people without any worry.

How do I even ride this thing? It rides so good & smooth that I do not want to damage it, I planed to use it for hardpac paths & crappy tarmac potholed roads and mount kerbs with it like I'm used -stuff that doesn't bother much the cheap crap hybrid/hardtail bikes.

How fragile is carbon in real use? Can I even use it for such stuff?
It has currently got 25mm schwalbe marathon plus tyres so pretty tough and with decent grip,but still.. the thing barely weighs nothing and is just a road bike with flat bar- But I have no desire to ride on tarmac along with cars!
Am I going to mess it up If I start mounting kerbs with it (not at speed) ,dropping kerbs & going over small roots?
have no idea how durable the carbon frames/forks are ...

-Would installing wider tyres with slightly more volume be a good idea to make it more ''durable''? ( I have no idea if 30mm would fit, maybe 28mm will)


Also How do you even go to store and leave the bike outside? I'm not sure if I even trust the ''good u-locks'' being an owner of cordless angle grinder myself. The previous owner kept it in armed garage locked up to wall..I'm used to keeping bikes just outside wherever there's space.
Brucey
Posts: 44521
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by Brucey »

I have good bikes that I use occasionally (when I don't want to do any of the things on your list) and much more durable, less fancy bikes when I am likely to give them a bit of treatment.

finding a bike that you can happily use as a tool , because it isn't a theft risk or too easily damaged, but yet isn't too much of a BSO either is a tough nut to crack and everyone will find their own happy compromise in a slightly different place for sure. Having said that not many folk will find it in the bike you describe.

Fitting wider tyres will help but won't make the bike less likely to get nicked or damaged in other ways.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by drossall »

Having a really nice bike often means also having another for the rides where the surface is rough, or you want to leave the bike around. I wouldn't be bumping a carbon wonder-machine up kerbs. They are for day rides in nice weather on good surfaces.
robert17
Posts: 376
Joined: 24 Mar 2009, 1:41pm
Location: Worcs

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by robert17 »

Bikes get chips and scratches. They are part of the deal. You can look at them as memories.
Littgull
Posts: 129
Joined: 21 Jun 2009, 9:36am

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by Littgull »

The OP has also posted this on another forum.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/bought-£1700-carbon-bike-now-scared-to-use-it.240084/
Littgull
Posts: 129
Joined: 21 Jun 2009, 9:36am

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by Littgull »

[quote="Littgull"]The OP has also posted this on another forum.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/bought-£1700-carbon-bike-now-scared-to-use-it.240084/
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John1054
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Joined: 11 May 2012, 11:43am
Location: Sunshine Coast

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by John1054 »

Link doesn't work??
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jezer
Posts: 1581
Joined: 29 Sep 2007, 5:16pm
Location: North Wiltshire

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by jezer »

We have a chap in our club who is always into the latest top end stuff. A few years ago when electric gears came out he was the first to indulge, on a fancy carbon frame of course. On club rides he would never go into the cafe, but stayed outside to guard it. Having said that, carbon is pretty tough. Both Mrs Jezer and I have crashed on carbon bikes with no ill effect, after all the pros give them quite a hammering.
Power to the pedals
althebike
Posts: 242
Joined: 10 May 2018, 12:58pm

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by althebike »

The first link concerns handlebars but it does give a good indication of the strengths and weaknesses of carbon v alloy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0stL5Q9 ... gs=pl%2Cwn
the 2nd link shows how carbon frames can often be repaired fairly cheaply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7e004b ... gs=pl%2Cwn

Do not be afraid to have fun on your new bike
eileithyia
Posts: 8399
Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by eileithyia »

Even some cheap nasty bike i would not ride up kerbs... I would perhaps drop slowly and cautiously down a kerb.
My current go to bike is a carbon road bike that gets ridden on some local cycle routes with tree roots and a bumpy section, I probably ride it as if doing some sort of off road racing but riding at a steady pace is no concern.

It is locked up outside cafes... I might re-think where I lock it for anything length of time if I was in a town centre or a dubious area.

What seriously troubles me is that it sounds like you have no secure place to store it at home? It would have to be somewhere secure and out of the weather when at home.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
brooksby
Posts: 495
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 9:02am
Location: Bristol

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by brooksby »

Littgull wrote:The OP has also posted this on another forum.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/bought-£1700-carbon-bike-now-scared-to-use-it.240084/


And on road.cc at https://road.cc/content/forum/248260-bought-ps1700-carbon-bike-now-scared-use-it

(I'm not going to beat them up about it - I do it too: road.cc regulars often have a very different point of view to CTC regulars.)
random37
Posts: 1952
Joined: 19 Sep 2008, 4:41pm

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by random37 »

Think of it as a price per mile. £1700 is not actually that much.

Use it, enjoy it. Accept that the nature of carbon bikes is to be disposable.

Of course, if you really can't live with that, sell it and buy another bike.
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Mick F
Spambuster
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Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by Mick F »

random37 wrote:Think of it as a price per mile. £1700 is not actually that much.

Use it, enjoy it. Accept that the nature of carbon bikes is to be disposable.

Of course, if you really can't live with that, sell it and buy another bike.

Plus one.
:D
Mick F. Cornwall
100%JR
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Location: High Green,Sheffield.

Re: Bought £1700 Carbon Bike - Now scared to use it.

Post by 100%JR »

Plenty of my friends who still MTB are riding Carbon bikes and they take plenty of abuse.
Disposable?
No more so than any other bike.
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