Bonding Carbon to Aluminum – MTB Frame Development (Episode 5)

Bonding carbon tubes to aluminum lugs raises a lot of technical questions. In this episode of the MTB Frame Development series, we share our current thinking and first tests — not a final solution. We compare carbon vs aluminum, explain why surface preparation is critical, discuss adhesive choices (DP420 vs DP490), and back it up with DIY tensile and bending tests to see how bonded joints behave in reality. This project is not about building the lightest frame, but about creating a more versatile system — and being honest about open questions. Chapters 00:00 Intro – Bonded lugs & frame development 00:36 Carbon vs Aluminum – Open questions 04:57 Why raw aluminum from the 6000 series 06:16 Surface preparation before bonding 08:24 Adhesive / glue choice 10:50 First bonding experience 12:39 DIY tensile test – Surface preparation 15:14 Tensile test 16:31 Bending test 19:14 Outro 👉 Next episode: We visit Spantech and show how carbon tubes are made — from CAD to CAM to CNC. Let us know your thoughts — this is a work in progress.