Carbon Care
Steel, aluminum, titanium and carbon.
All these materials offer different ride qualities and different price levels when it comes to bicycle frames and components. For us, most questions are about carbon - Is it strong? (Yes) Won't it just break? (No) What if I fall down? (It's OK) Will it hold my weight? (Yes)
Carbon is an amazingly strong material. It's used on bicycles, cars, airplanes, boats and in a variety of other industries for it's perfect strength to weight ratio. We embrace carbon for bicycles and parts but we stock and sell only carbon from reputable companies. You can find cheap carbon on the internet but when there's no research and development, product testing or warranty to stand behind it, it's not something we want to send you down a hill on! And, while carbon is strong and durable, it does take a bit of care and thought.
* Cleaning: Use only mild cleaners such as Finish Line Bike Wash. To make it shine, we suggest a silicone-based polish such as Pedro's Bike Lust. Never use harsh cleaners or abrasive cloths.
*Service: It's best to bring your carbon frame bicycle or carbon components to the shop for proper adjustments. If you do choose to work on your own bike, be sure to follow manufacturer guidelines on torque specs and lubrication. A great tool we suggest is the Ritchey Carbon Torqkey. This handy tool is a seatpack-sized 4mm hex wrench preset to 5nm. It allows you to tighten most stems and seatposts to proper spec with just a turn of the wrench!
Incident: If your bike is subjected to a severe impact, bring it to Sprockets for an inspection. Unlike steel or aluminum, carbon doesn't always show damage even when its safety is compromised.