Carbon.Bike offers inexpensive, lightweight components thanks to forged carbon construction

Isn’t bikerumor hq in NC? A factory tour would be cool and add credibility to a new face to the bike industry. Seems like this could be disruptive in price to the big guys.

Oh hey, we didn’t think the press was interested. A technical director at Campagnolo has informed us they use the forged materials in their cranks. So we are certainly not the first.

The forged composite materials are headed to china via a massive manufacturing investment by the parent company. Over the next few years forged composites won’t be Lamborghini, Callaway and Campy – it will be in everything. For now, we truly have a COG near the largest manufacturers traditional carbon cranks, but made mostly (the CofO mix is in the campaign) in the US. The trade response for kids bikes and recumbents has been very positive. At any rate, thanks for sharing Bikerumor!

I won’t be a first adopter without some serious, certified testing but i’ll be keeping an eye on them.

I like a bargain as much as the next guy, but there is a point when I just assume it has to be junk if it’s to cheap. I am not sure what to make of these, but I wish them a lot of success and I hope to see a follow up article or better yet a “long term” test from BR.

I can’t imagine buying from a company when they are, apparantly, unaware what the word FORGED means.

While researching to decide which size crank arm to go with for maximum ground clearance, I came across a study that found no substantial loss in power down to around 140mm. Their lineup is interesting, and the price, for once, is reasonable.

“Forged Composite” is an abandoned trademark of Callaway Golf Company.

It’s kind of a misnomer. Forging aligns the grain structure in the direction you want it. This “forged composite” is the complete opposite. Random fiber orientation will produce inconsistent materials properties.

Ok, this is pretty intriguing…not some goofball Kickstarter idea. I think time will be the best measure of these new parts, and as such, I’d probably wait a while before considering them. But yeah, cool stuff, hope it proves to be a good, reliable product! Hope to see BR doing some testing and reporting on it.

I’m pretty sure I’m buying in these things…they look awesome!!!

I’m intrigued, the price is low, the weight is low.

But Indiegogo is a place for scammers, flexible funding means they get your money no matter what, and may or may not deliver. No one wants to buy a carbon crank of questionable durability, and they’ve provided no documentation of any sort of testing or meeting standards, which is incredibly important for any new entrant.

What’s their website?

I wish the finish/graphics were better. I thought about a stem as that and rims are the final carbon bits left to get. But it’s only 10gr less than the Easton Haven and actually just slightly more than I got mine for. Combined with looking like dull plastic and generic/NO branding… “I’m out” (for now at least, good luck!)

However, I’ll “stay tuned” as the cranks might be worth considering on other builds after more testing/testimonials come in…

Nice wordsmithery. They’re just a step away from another industrial application. Carbon-carbon is a fruit cocktail of pre-preg carbon scraps, compression molded, and then heated to set off the epoxy. Then it’s really heated which burns off the 38% resin content, extra carbon is formed, and the resulting carbon whatsis is half it’s molded weight, clanks like a ceramic plate, and is unworldly strong — but when it breaks it can be spectacular. Whether the slurry they mix can be furthur processed is unknown. Fine for smaller, shorter components but so much extra resin. -Bill

This material was used on the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. If you want to know more about this material:

http://www.quantumcomposites.com/pdf/papers/2011-ASC-montreal-forged-suspens.pdf

Airframe manufacturers have been proposing the use of high-performance discontinuous systems that are suitable for compression molding of primary structures. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner for example makes use of AS4/ 8552 HexMC® for the window frames, as well as other primary and secondary structural elements Discontinuous carbon fiber systems for advanced compression molding have shown highly desirable mechanical properties, particularly with regards to stiffness, since the average modulus reported is identical to that of the quasi-isotropic (QI) continuous prepreg laminate used as the reference.

Open-hole and filled-hole strength is virtually identical to unnotched strength, thereby making it very useful for manufacturing structures with fastener and lightening holes. The material is also more impervious to moisture absorption, and therefore its elevated temperature wet properties are less affected than the laminated equivalent.

With this Quantum Material and your design your are passing the EN 14766 testing norm for Mountain Bikes?

If this stays on shore and results in cheaper, better parts (which it very well might, despite all those that love to argue otherwise) this might just be a game changer. Whether those who must quibble can admit it or not, I believe I can hear certain members of a certain industry shaking.

LOTS of IF, though…. I am empiricist enough as to need to adduce some evidence… need to see some testing…

Lamborghini is currently using the material to cast the tubs for the Huracan. There is an interesting factory walk through of their factory where they talk using the same material in other parts due the ability to cast it versus hand laying every single piece. They also mention that the material will not replace mission critical parts that require specific layups because of engineering constraints, ie… rims.

Interesting to see it used outside of the automotive industry. I think Audi is using this now on their A8 supercars… and as Audi, ie. VW owns Lamborghini maybe we will see a much larger usage as time passes.