Ok, I took it apart tonight (pulling parts for my Fuji build).

Background story for the imaginary BFer who hasn't heard it: my 4-year-old Madone died when the BB shell came loose inside the frame. A repair attempt was made, but it didn't hold.

Tonight I mangled the BB shell out of it with a couple pairs of pliers and a pipe wrench. I managed not to damage the frame any more than it already was.

First of all, no freaking wonder it died. The amount of carbon supporting the BB is very small. It's like a 1/8" ring around each side of the shell. I've had 1750W sprints on this bike, and several 1' tests over 800W. I don't see how that structure could be expected to withstand full-time training like that. You get just a little give out of it in a pedal stroke, fracture the epoxy holding the shell in there, then every other stroke that flexes the frame around the shell is going to break off more and more of the epoxy bond.

Second of all, I think it can be repaired by someone who knows what they're doing. I'd think that if another wrap of carbon was placed inside the contact surfaces, that should tighten things up enough for a re-bond to hold.

When I had it repaired, we decided to save the BB shell for fear of not having a correct O.D. replacement available. I just don't think he was able to get epoxy in all the places that needed it.

Anyway, the pics show how frail everything looks. I don't see any fractures in the frame carbon.