Bicycle material

Carbon Fibre

A composite made from layers of carbon fibre sheets bonded with resin. Engineers can arrange the layers to make a part stiff in one direction and more flexible in another.

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Close-up of black woven carbon fibre fabric, showing the criss-cross pattern of the fibre bundles
Photo: Acheolg, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized by VeloVerse. This adapted version is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Advantages & Disadvantages

The main strengths and weaknesses of Carbon Fibre.

Advantages

  • Very high strength and stiffness for its weight
  • Can be tuned for both stiffness and comfort
  • Allows aerodynamic and complex shapes

Disadvantages

  • Expensive to make
  • Can be damaged by sharp impacts or over-tightened bolts
  • Damage is not always visible from the outside
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