First up, we have to explain the material that gives carbon bike frames their name – Carbon Fiber.
And this section will take up a bit more than the others.
Carbon Fiber has virtually no shelf life and it doesn’t rust like the metals used on most bikes.
It’s no secret that carbon bike frames are made with carbon fiber, but most don’t know that carbon fiber comes in 4 different tiers – and each one has different properties that can determine how long you can expect them to last.
The 4 tiers of carbon fiber used on bikes are; standard modulus, intermediate modulus, high modulus and ultra-high modulus.
As you go up the tiers, the quality and price of the carbon fiber improves but not always the strength.
Carbon Fiber is graded by its Modulus and Tensile strength.
Modulus basically means how stiff the carbon fiber is and is measured in Gigapascals, or Gpa. Tensile Strength represents how far the carbon fiber can stretch before fracturing and is basically a measure of how much it can take before breaking. Tensile Strength is measured in Megapascals, or Mpa.