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TheMightySkunk wrote:

It takes 3 years to train a master ti welder, whereas any high school kid can be trained to mix up a batch of epoxy and glue (i.e "bond") carbon tubes & lugs together on a jig in a few weeks. Using the carbon monostay reduces the number of welds on a frame by almost half.

I have personally experienced and witnessed too many unexplained catastrophic failures of carbon structures in other sports (windsurfing, skiing, motor sports). Warranties are great, but they don't do you much good if you're dead. I'm sure Airbus has a great warranty on the carbon tail section which sheared off that American Airlines Airbus jet

I use aluminum handlebars, seatposts, stems, wheels, and cranks. I prefer Thomson stems and seatposts, they're a little heavy but they are machined out of a one-piece billet. No welds to mysteriously fail. I use AlphaQ forks with titanium steerer tubes.

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Re: welding Ti. Welding Ti is only more difficult because of the inert atmosphere required to prevent embrittlement. I'm a machinist and I've welded Ti. It's not any more difficult than stainless. But, in respect to the great welders at some of the various bike manufacturers, I did not weld thin wall tubes and I didn't weld any high stress parts. However, I seriously doubt it takes three years to become proficient at welding Ti and doubt the bike makers only hire master welders. Having said that, again, I'm a machinist, not a welder, and my experiences for welding (Ti or anything else) is limited.

Re: failures. All components and material can and do fail. When pushed to the extremes for weight and strength in applications like airplanes, bikes, F1 cars... the failures are usually spectacular. With bikes, usually one person is hurt. With F1 cars, maybe several are hurt if the (pro) driver really loses control and hits others. Obviously, when a plane crashes, many people die. But do consider all the hours and miles traveled by those airplanes before a catastrophic failure happens. I don't know the specifics about the incident, but I do remember it. Are you POSITIVE it was a carbon fiber failure rather than something else that failed and then overloaded the carbon fiber beyond it's design parameters??

Re: Al components. One piece machined components are not necessarily stronger than a welded component. You can make a machined piece that will fail and a welded one that won't. ...All in the design and quality.

You speak of "welds mysteriously failing". Yet you prefer a welded frame???

You use a fork with Ti steerer. Ever heard of "notch sensitivity"? Ti is very susceptible.

It's great that you check your CF fork before every ride. Here is a CF fork that belonged to a friend of mine: www.geocities.com/skuke89/fork.html Yup, catastrophic failure like you're familiar with. But nobody knows if the CF failed or he kicked up a stick, animal... Nobody know if a crash would not have happened if he had a steel fork.

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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151

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