millsr4

Sure, the track isn't at the level of current World Cup tracks but I was expecting worse when I read the comments before watching the video. The Olympics are a money grab for the committee. If you seriously think this is the pinnacle of sports you are delusional, that era ended decades ago. It may have a ton of gravel but at least there are some jumps and drops, I know I could still have fun ripping around this track.

@RadBartTaylor: Sure aluminum can fail too but at least that crack is there as witness, at that point it's on the rider for not evaluating his equipment properly but that evaluation can't even be done with carbon. Aerospace companies uses carbon everywhere these days, that is true, but they also have rigorous quality and inspection criteria that is nonexistent in the cycling industry. And judging by Boeings performance recently even that isn't good enough lol. I'd be surprised if the average bike engineer even knew what USI was... It always makes me chuckle when I see bike companies talking about their "cutting edge technology" that's been around for decades in other industries. Guerilla Gravity were the only ones that I felt were actually pushing carbon manufacturing in the cycling world by using more durable materials and processes at the cutting edge(they used govt. research grants to fund the creation of their proprietary process). In the beginning of this back and forth I agreed that there are some use cases where fantastic plastic makes sense, I just don't believe that is true for 90%+ of mountain bikers out there. People lust over whatever the new fad is or what is perceived as high end, hence adding batteries to a bike that doesn't even have a motor.

@RadBartTaylor: You could argue it is a design issue driven by cost and weight goals. With enough $$ you can absolutely make a bike with the "perfect" material but that isn't carbon, it would be made of multiple just ask Neko with his Frameworks bike. I'm not ignorant to the benefits carbon brings, I was a project manager for an aerospace carbon tooling company, but I don't believe that the benefits are worth the costs both monetarily or environmentally. Go ahead and waste your money on plastic components and batteries if that makes you feel good, they aren't for me. Here is a scenario that comes up for most riders at least a couple times a year: You are charging down a trail, you go OTB, and your bike tumbles down the trial. You didn't see it happen, but a rock impacted your frame at some point during the tumble. With carbon there can be internal damage at any point where an impact is made, with no witness, that can lead to catastrophic failure on your next ride. I don't care what the statistical odds are at that point, with the standards used in most of the bike industry I just can't trust their carbon.

@RadBartTaylor: I totally understand that, and aside from XC racing and maybe WCDH, I don't find it appropriate. It can work just fine but why introduce more non recyclable plastic into our world to lose less than a pound of weight that most people should lose off of their belly? My biggest issue of all comes down to safety. Say all you want about what carbon can do but when there is the possibility for undetectable internal damage that can lead to catastrophic failure on product people literally trust with their lives, it's not the right material. I will never understand how people can justify saving a few bucks with buying used carbon handle bars or cranks... I won't even go 4 years without swapping alloy bars.

@RadBartTaylor: I live in Bellingham and ride year round, as long as I keep up with chain and cassette wear my Shimano drivetrains do just fine.

@vinay: They can poke all they want but I won't back away with my opinion. I'm a stubborn engineer who was on the debate team in high school lol. Technology is great at times but we don't need it everywhere. Just don't get me started on carbon...

@RadBartTaylor: You are complaining about a "bit' of effort to maintain a mech drivetrain while simultaneously saying a bit more effort to charge batteries isn't a big deal? 6 of one, half a dozen of another... you can keep your batteries. Current offerings from Shimano are amazing, I go months without needing to adjust my drivetrain as long as I keep an eye on chain and cassette wear.

@ShoodNoBetter: Nope, no bike computer... once again, I don't want electronics on my bikes lol. Just because other batteries I have to deal with take more effort it doesn't mean I want more batteries on top of those, why is that hard for people to understand? More technology isn't always what everyone is after... What I'm worried about is finally finding time to go for a ride between work and family obligations but my batteries needing a charge before I can go for a ride or losing power part way through a ride.

@egebhardt: That's exactly why I don't want to deal with batteries on my bikes... they are already everywhere else and I don't want to deal with more of them. Keeping my phone charged is enough of a chore lol. I could care less if I'm in the minority opinion, high quality low cost mechanical drivetrains from Shimano aren't going anywhere any time soon.

@hhhanson: I'll hate on it because I simply don't want to deal with batteries on my bikes. That said, my cable drivetrains haven't needed constant adjustment since I switched from Sram to Shimano. Also, you don't need to be in the market for a new bike to be interested in a new drivetrain... drive trains are wear items that need replacing periodically.