I'm not saying carbon is more likely to fail than other materials, but there are many factors to consider - just as aluminium can fatigue, or steel, so will carbon eventually.
the main problem with diagnosis of carbon is that a seemingly slight impact could have hidden issues such as delamination etc. With a steel or ally component this damage would often be visible and can be gauged. unless you go to the expense of having carbon x-rayed you will never know the true impact.
I also have a carbon MTB frame from several years back, and although I still ride it I am always concerned about its ultimate long term durability - also having seen many carbon components (seatposts mainly) suddenly fail in a catastrophic manner, I'm always mindfull about what 'could' happen.
maybe in 30-40 years when more data is available on long term characteristics we will all be able to judge carbon composites with a better ability.
I'm not saying carbon is more likely to fail than other materials, but there are many factors to consider - just as aluminium can fatigue, or steel, so will carbon eventually.
the main problem with diagnosis of carbon is that a seemingly slight impact could have hidden issues such as delamination etc. With a steel or ally component this damage would often be visible and can be gauged. unless you go to the expense of having carbon x-rayed you will never know the true impact.
I also have a carbon MTB frame from several years back, and although I still ride it I am always concerned about its ultimate long term durability - also having seen many carbon components (seatposts mainly) suddenly fail in a catastrophic manner, I'm always mindfull about what 'could' happen.
maybe in 30-40 years when more data is available on long term characteristics we will all be able to judge carbon composites with a better ability.
cheers - Tb