I've got wood

Think of all those wooden lats used in ladders that blokes would be up and down all day with hods full of bricks on their backs. They wouldn't want them to fail would they? Of course they have been replaced with ali ladders, but they worked well enough for long enough. I think they are more than strong enough.

The wooden rungs may bear a lot of weight, but what about sudden impact at, say 25 mph? I can't help but feel that there are sound reasons why wood is not a popular material for bicycle components.

Having said that, carbon fibre proved an expensive disappointment, when push came to van...