Cutting Carbon the right and the wrong way.

The Efficiency Bike Scoop occurs each Wednesday at 3:00PM EST on our Efficiency Bicycle Fb web page.

This week we had the chance to check the sturdiness of carbon fiber on a discarded body broken in transport. This was an important alternative for us to reveal how sturdy carbon fiber actually is and the very best practices for reducing carbon handlebars and steerer tubes.

Take a look at the video under.  We’ll admit, we had some enjoyable throughout this one.

When you’re pondering you want some carbon minimize out of your life, we’re more than pleased to assist!  When you dwell near considered one of our outlets then please swing by anytime.

The 2 commonest carbon elements you would possibly wish to minimize can be steer tubes and mountain bike handlebars.  In some situations there might be a necessity to chop a seat put up, and on the uncommon event, some seat tubes and masts must be minimize.  The method is just about an identical for all of them.

Issues you don’t want to chop are fairly apparent.  These can be issues resembling components of the body, street particular handlebars, stems, wheelsets, saddle rails, and many others.

When you’re trying to do it your self, listed below are some should have ideas and instruments you’ll want earlier than starting the method:

1. An excellent understanding of bicycle match.  Slicing steer tubes, mountain handlebars, and seat posts all are to attain the very best bike match.  Some people want extra upright positions, decrease saddles, wider or shorter handlebars, and many others.
2. Adoption of the rule that it’s essential to measure 5X and minimize 4X.  As soon as you chop it off you possibly can’t put it again on .
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   When you go too quick you’ll have to purchase a brand new one, and carbon isn’t all that low-cost.
3. Tape to wrap across the element you’re about to chop.  Wrapping it in a pair layers of tape helps forestall the carbon layers from splintering once you take the hacksaw to it.
4. Talking of hacksaws, you’ll want a type of too!  The blade is a very powerful half.   Most hacksaws include round a 24-25 tpi (tooth per inch) blade.  That’ll do the trick simply high quality, however having a finer blade that’s across the 30 tpi mark will aid you make a greater, smoother minimize.
5. A sharpie.  Once you’re measuring these 5 occasions, you’ll wish to use the sharpie to mark the spot you’re going to chop.  No eyeballing it!
6. A tube reducing information.  Slide the element into the information and when the sharpie mark strains up, clamp it down simply to the purpose the place it doesn’t transfer.  Over tightening might harm the element!
7. A vice securely connected to a bench, or different related floor.  Placing the tube reducing information into the vice helps safe all the things in place, provides you the steadiness it’s essential to make minimize, and prevents you from hurting your self!
8. Sandpaper.  After you make your minimize, take off the tape and use some sand paper to easy out the perimeters.
9. A torque wrench.  You’re going to wish to place these elements again in your bike so you possibly can experience it, however make sure to use a torque wrench so that you don’t over tighten the bolt and crack the body or the element you simply minimize.  Most carbon is really useful to be torqued to round 5nm, however be sure to learn the producer’s urged spec, as a number of them are barely totally different.

If within the unlucky occasion you get in a crash and break a carbon element you need to at all times exchange it.  When you suspect your carbon body is broken in an accident, take it to your native store to have it inspected.  There are carbon restore corporations on the market who’re extremely gifted and might repair your carbon bike!  Doing these repairs will void your producer guarantee, however most restore corporations offers you a guaranty on their work.  On the finish of that day that’s a reasonably nice choice.

If nevertheless your body is broken and never repairable you’ll need to get rid of the body correctly.  One enjoyable option to eliminate it’s to hold it in your store or flip it into a bit of artwork (a reasonably costly piece of artwork!), however no matter you do, be sure the body is clearly marked as damaged and unrideable, or the body is damaged in half so it’s apparent it’s broken, like we demonstrated in our video.

Thanks for studying and watching, and take a look at the Efficiency Bike Scoop each Wednesday at 3:00PM EST on our Fb Web page.

~Bike Scoop