So spacers are bad?! The cannibal’s son doesn’t think so:
(aka Axel Merckx)
Axel’s a tall guy, and that’s probably the only way they can get the frame to ‘fit’ him. It makes obvious one of the shortcomings of carbon frames. If he was on one of his papa’s bikes, he’d likely be riding a custom Premium. And it wouldn’t look all goofy.
I just hope that fork doesn’t have a carbon steerer…
Irondad, Are you at the tour?
Nope… just perusing forum reports on it…
Right on, YOu were throwing so many pics up I figured you were there…I would be very jelous.
Nice blog. It’s cool to see a dad involved in his kids lives. and encouraging them to do something other than play Xbox or text message their friends. Well done!
Did it in '05, though, when visiting family there… you can click on my second blog link and see pictures… a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
I really don’t understand all the fuss about carbon steerers and the manufacturer’s liability blurbs. It seems everyone on ST is so fixated on this…
Ya, of course there are tolerences b/c the steerer must be cut minus ready-made bikes.
But, look at the carbon steerer wall diameter. Holy material, batman.
I’ve never seen a carbon steerer break (crack, yes…break, no), but have witness COUNTLESS carbon handlebars, a dozen or so carbon stems and a few dozen carbon frames cause SEVERE failure. Matter of fact, my GF busted my beloved EC90 equipes today and she’s 110 pounds.
My point is that the steerer is perhaps the only part where there is a manufacturer’s statement regarding tolerance, but yet it’s (in my experience) one of the least likely carbon components to crack/break/crush.
Of course, don’t take this post as a recommendation not to follow the guideline.
I can’t say I’m a big fan of carbon for a lot of parts… Bars and stems, especially. I wouldn’t likely ride carbon cranks, either.
Carbon steerer tubes, especially when combined with lots of spacers, just make me nervous. Yeah, there’s lots of material there. You can trust it if you like. I for one, don’t. (I’m fine with them for short applications - i.e, very few to no spacers)