ok, so i don’t know much (anything) about carbon frames, but am keen to get something that helps me get up hills faster. i’m looking at a Masi 3vc, but the carbon tubes are glued / bonded together, rather than all moulded as one. my question today is: does this mean a significant loss of strength / increase in weight?
this is not the thread to tell me how much steal is real, or to argue about the respective worth of each particular material. it’s the help section, not the flame war section…
Have a read about Exxon Graftek frames. :-o Carbon tubes, investment cast S/S lugs, bond failure
Early composite frames did have bonding issues. I don’t know how the Masi bonded theirs, (internal lugs & epoxy?) or what their track record’s like. How old is the frame?
You should be able to find the frame weight, and compare that to monocoque frame weights. Not likely to be a huge difference, especially once built up.
thanks blakey. the 3VCs are bonded with internal lugs and then expoxied (?). the frame i’m tempted by is NOS from 2007.
I wouldn’t stress about a NOS 07 frame coming apart. If it was a used early carbon job, then yes.
As for stiffness, a monocoque with a ton of reinforcement at the BB etc will likely have better power transfer, but are your calves big enough to notice the difference? 
dont forget that the tattoos give him an extra 23.7% power.
but i’d agree with blakeys comments.
fwiw i remember sitting in a very detailed discussion about the relative merits of carbon and its strengths with some people whose opinions i would trust.
a lot of it boiled down to buying cheap CF is often a mistake (especially if you are a hard rider, or ride hard - both of which i would say brendan fits into). a walmart CF frame does not equal a pinarello prince CF frame but thats pretty obvious.
apart from that you need to keep a (closer eye) on it than you would steel or maybe Al simply for safetys sake. ive seen some CF frames take a pretty good beating and still last.
Not all carbon frames are created equal. Not all carbon for that matter. The less total mass you have to push/pull up the better but less rotating mass is even better. eg light wheels. Or even better wheels that are lighter at the perimeter.
You could have 3 different carbon frames from the same manufacture that all ride differently. And there are alloy frames that do their intended job better than carbon.
Also I love bonded frames. After doing some fatigue and destruction testing on bonded mtb and road frames we ditched the welder at every oppertunity.
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