I had a couple people ask this question in the same week so here it is! The difference between Carbon and Aluminum and the difference between a race bike and a freestyle bike. Whats your thoughts?
I learned that carbon can be stronger, because the molecular structure is a hexagon, so the molecules make a lot of contact with each other in all directions. This makes carbon rims, forks, etc. super strong when casing a jump, or taking any sort of impact. When carbon is not strong, is when it is hit with something, because the carbon molecules are flat, an impact perpendicular to the carbon weave, such as hitting it with a hammer or something can compromise the part.
Barry, you do an excellent job explaining things. I've been in BMX for 24 years (racing & freestyle) and I'm always learning something new from your videos.
i race a standard 125r and s&m speedwagon. it feels great around the track, it has a little flex but not as much as you might think. before that i had a meybo hole shot, carbon forks and wheels and all that and on the scale my standard was actually lighter. chromoly bikes definitely have improved over the years and everyone who had ridden my bike liked it. everyone seems to want carbon, or a fancy aluminum frame. and i’ve had both but at the end of the day i’d always chose a chromoly frame over anything else. and being American made that’s always cool too.
So my race bike is actually a full steel frame. It’s a gt frame with mostly gt parts on it. I have been taking your tips and me now being 15 is doing bmx racing.
On the cogwheel of his Haro-Racebike there is a lettering in German that says "Rennen", which means "racing" or even "run" or "sprint". That's really cool, cuz from a German perspektive it somehow sounds oldschool. You/barry explains a lot of stuff, which I think might be of great interest for a lot of newbies. I like that you're always open up and not moody or negative towards other people, which I think makes a real winner/racer. Its the mindset.
Round 2 Bmx products makes forks that are fully carbon. They do have a metallic insert for the stem stem bolt at the top and metal in the opening for the axel. I’ve been running them on my cruiser and class bikes and haven’t had any issues so far.
Be cool if you could do a video on injury recovery. Stuff that helps. I'm straight bumming at the moment. Broke tib, fib, and dislocated ankle on the dirt jumper last week lol
Sweet. Perfect. Barry,trying to move my daughter from the 20 to the 26 dj. She ain't feeling it. Give us some words on the learning curve to make the change. 🤘🏻
Just an FYI to your question. Carbon fiber is approximately three to four times stronger than aluminum in regards to tensile strength. With that being said, carbon fibers strength is all dependent on the type of carbon used. There are various different orientations. There is uni directional, which has all of the fiber running one way. The strength here is made when numerous plies are stacked in different directions. For instance, the ply makeup may start at 0 degrees and then 45 and 90. With all that being said, carbon is definitely more brittle in regards to an isolated impact (like leaning a road bike against a wall and the top tube hits the edge of a curb when it falls) and therefore more susceptible to damage if incidents like that occur. This is where delamination can occur. I love carbon, especially on road bikes. You just have to be careful handling them.
Great Video! Carbon is about twice as strong as aluminum. However, once the ultimate tensile strength of the carbon fiber material is exceeded carbon fiber fails suddenly.
*this is info from an older video I saw explaining carbon fiber so it may be outdated* Carbon is stronger when molded correctly and when only the intended forces are applied. The direction the carbon is laid effects the strength of the piece. That’s why you see videos of people smashing carbon downtubes with no problem but a rock hitting the side at a weird angle may crack it.
@@barrynobles95 yup that's a problem there's plenty of us old guys still interested here in cali besides I think most of your young viewers aren't interested in there gramps's bmx bikes.thanks for the reply . Keep it up
Carbon is stronger than chromoly, But Carbon also can be weaker, The rear triangle on a carbon bike is much stiffer and stronger than that of a chromoly or aluminum, But when you nose dive to many times carbon can break on you, Carbon is stronger but not stronger in the stress points, wherever the welds are on a freestyle bike or alu race bike are is where the stress points are on carbon and those are where you normally crack or snap carbon, Over torching carbon can also pinch it or crack it so Impact wise carbon is weaker, but in general carbon is stronger!!
Some aluminum bmx frames are very close to carbon fiber bmx racing bikes because they are stronger and when made correctly they can be very light on the bmx race tracks. Barry Nobel.
Could you do a video for BMX race and explain how UCI championships work as well as large races like rock hill or just explain how any large race work cause I know a lot of people out there who just ride locally and want to go out of town
Do you pinch the seat when you throw the bars? I've never been able to do it and have been told it's because I don't pinch the seat but I see people throw em and it doesn't look like they are pinching. Then again they are 100,000 times more talented than I am.
Hey Barry do you remember the chaos squad ya I am the 11 year old that had the messed up back hub and I fell at rock hill and broke my shoulder and thumb
How do you know what size (height) the bars should be on a race bike? Im a newbie, building a bike up, does RAD for mtb bike fit appy to the fit of a race Bmx. Alex Bogusky (Joy of Bike) has good videos on measuring RAD.
I was personally just gonna buy one because I remember seeing it when I was younger, not really looking to do tricks or anything just looking for a nice ride to ride around town
A bit of an over simplification. Steel frames do flex a little out of the gate yes, but where does the energy go? It can only be transmitted into something else- it cannot be destroyed. Unless you bike is turning it into heat or sound the flex is returned into your pedal stroke when there is less force- when the pedals are more vertical. People have been sold of stiffness through road bike mentality where the requirements for lighter weights made bikes very flexible. Carbon fibre bikes make for a poor ride and make the bike push the front too much in corners. And riders probably make more losses due to being inaccurate over jumps and the bike not flexing to forgive them. Amazing how the sales of rental bars have peaked to forgive some of the stiffness. Freestyle bikes are not made of aluminium because it isn't durable enough. It suffers fatigue. That is- it can go through repeated cycles within its threshold of stress and strain and break. It has a finite lifetime. New heat treating processes have made it better, but it still suffers fatigue breaks. But it is cheaper. Nearly all bmx manufacturers bond aluminium steerers to their carbon forks. Carbon steerers will just shatter upon casing, so generally have a weight restriction, and bmx'ers are not the most technically savvy so will over tighten stems, and these need to be tightened with a sleeve inside, to a given tension and lubricated correctly. Personally, I don't think carbon fibre or clips have any place in bmx. They haven't helped any, and have made it harder for kids to get into he sport and made crashes much worse. And loads of motor cycle supercross guys have gone back to steel swing arms because aluminium feels bad- the moto gp guys have gone away from carbon as it is too stiff and unpredictable. But great videos Barry and great to see you still giving everything to bmx and giving back.
The new thing is flexible carbonframe who help you to get the energy down to the tire when you start. That company made competition bows in carbonfiber to.
Titanium is as light as aluminium but as strong as steel, small issue - it's a pain in the a** to work with. Everything from making the tubes to welding them together is just more of a hassle. That's why the price is so insane, not because it's some rare element, it's actually pretty common, but craftsmanship and QC need to be on point, and those are not free.