Re: nude vs. clearcoated ...durability: Bikefanclub.com

It is actually incorrect that a small scratch in a carbon composite tube will cause a catstrophic failure. This is an urban legend type of thing going around. Scratches do not propagate through the structure like amorphous metals do. Those who think carbon composite frames are fragile are completely unaware of the much more demanding applications in aerospace where carbon composites are used because of their superior characteristics.

The only real durability differnce between nude and clearcoat is that the clearcoat is much more fragile than the underlying carbon and that nothing much sticks very well to carbon composites.

Note that I use the term composite because nothing is made of pure carbon fiber. The expoxy that bind the fiber together is also a critical part of the performance of the matrix. Next time you take a flight you had bettter understand that a greater proportion of every new commercial aircraft is made of composite structures.

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