[jrstudman81]

For a hybrid fitness bike, who makes the best carbon fiber frame? I know from a LBS that they said Giant hand crafts or makes their frames from scratch is this true?

[Industry_Hack]

Neither of your questions make a lot of sense.

Best frame for what? If your LBS told you that Giant "hand crafts" carbon fiber frames "from scratch", you need a new LBS.

[Weav]

most of the high end carbon frames are coming out of Taiwan. Some companies still make their own frames in-house but it's the exception and it could be argued that they aren't really all that much better than the Taiwan frames.

Giant for example, has a manufactuing facility somewhere in Asia I think. They are very large and make alot of frames for other companies, who then badge them with their stickers and sell them as their own. Giant does not "hand craft" their bikes any more than any other company does. Some U.S.& Canadian companies that make their own bikes in house are Parlee, Guru, Serotta, and some of Trek's high end stuff.

[PlatyPius]

Time draws their own carbon fibre tubing. So does BMC. Cyfac uses pre-made carbon tubes, but cuts and joins them (and Kevlar-wraps the BB junction) to your specifications.

There are a lot of carbon bikes out there. It would be impossible to say which was "best".

[Industry_Hack]

I wouldn't call a carbon fiber tube "drawn", but I'm not sure what you would call that process. Trek's OCLV process uses an air bladder of some sort and they lay it up in molds, with the weave specific to the properties they want the tubing to have.

[PlatyPius]

Originally Posted by Industry_Hack

I wouldn't call a carbon fiber tube "drawn", but I'm not sure what you would call that process. Trek's OCLV process uses an air bladder of some sort and they lay it up in molds, with the weave specific to the properties they want the tubing to have.

Well, the carbon fibres are woven together to form tubes at TIME. They go through a machine that resembles that used to draw aluminum tubes, so I wasn't sure what else to call it. Woven, I guess.