Individual carbon-fiber electrodes are used to isolate characteristics intrinsic to the lithiated-carbon fiber. The results are not complicated by the influence of binders, electronically conductive additives, current collectors, or other components necessary for the fabrication of porous carbon electrodes. Central to the technique is the use of microelectrode instrumentation and microscopic carbon fibers. Analytic expressions are derived to represent qualitatively the electrochemical data. The results of this study allow one to determine the performance limitations imposed on a porous carbon anode by the active carbon fibers.