Carbon Fiber - Weight Limit? (real world)

What are the weight limits on a carbon fiber frame? I know its supposed to be super strong.. but will it support drops and aggressive riding at 200-250lbs riders?

I have the chance of taking over a carbon frame but am really afraid it cannot support my weight long term/heavy duty usage..

Any opinions? i would really like to get some more real world feedback versus manufacturer blather/marketing..

crap.. wrong forum.. can i get this moved to the workshop please?

 

I'm about 220 and I used to ride a carbon Trek Fuel. It was fine, but it did eventually crack at the bottom bracket due to manufacturer defect after about 5 years of riding it pretty hard.

 

what bike or kind of bike are you talking about? A sub 20 lbs hardtail cross country race machine or like the Scott Ransom LTD? because my best guess would be that those two would have different weight capacities.

Another thing to keep in mind is that on those high end carbon bikes dont always come with wheels that are heavy rider friendly.

 

Specifically a Mt Fuji Pro.. been riding it more XC/trail riding, but want to do more aggressive all mountain riding with it.. basically shared between my brother and I. Some reason, I am just no convinced that carbon fiber will take the abuse I am gonna give it.. so looking into a AL hardtail at the moment..

 

I've been riding my S-works Enduro SL for almost a year, and it's never been an issue. I'm not exactly nice to it either! I scale in at a portly 220+ gear (Lot's of gear.....). A quality carbon frame theoretically should last longer than aluminum frame anyday, as long as you don't go beyond the elastic capacity of the frame. Just double check with the mfgr to make sure that there is not a weight limit for the frame that you are looking at.

 

Ahh.. Gotcha.. Seems all the mfgr's do is upsell their products.. never talk about weight or the beating it will take. Roomie totally taco'd a set of rims.. he got a set of sun xc-ds2 due to budget. and totally jacked them.. broke a bottom bracket in 2 weeks and also broke a FS frame.. I apparently pedal like a excavator and broke my crank on my FS bike (gonna warranty it out), but want a hardtail that will take my abuse on it.. Looking at a used Haro Escape as those are box triangles.. guess my concern is not to break a nice/expensive bike

 

What sort of riding do you intend to do with it? I don't think that any mfgr's make a carbon frame for dirt jumping per-se, but ridden within the confines of the design of the frame, the carbon should outlast the aluminum. My Enduro SL is an all mountain frame and it'll take quite a bit of abuse, but again within the design parameters. Then again, the bike retails for somewhere in the $7K range for a complete bike. Just make sure that you get the appropriate frame for the application and you should be fine!

 

Back in my lighter days, 225, I road a full carbon HT. Did small jumps and small drops with it and it lasted 11yrs before the seat tube started to go.

If the bike is more XC/trail oriented then I would shy away from "aggressive" riding using today's standards. Something like the Scott Ransom10 or 20 or a Cannondale Moto1, 2 or 3 would be a better choice if you REALLY WANTED a carbon frame to use for aggressive riding. Otherwise just stick with a good Aluminum one.

Heck, this is the pic they, C'dale, use to market it so they have a good idea what type of rider might buy the Moto ...