Aluminum has the same issues with fatigue factor that CF does. A lot of the people I'm talking to have said that while, in theory, CF and aluminum have fatigue factors shortening their lives...they are so over engineered that pretty much no riders are very likely to ever reach the point where it becomes an issue. It can happen in a crash, but it can happen to steel in a crash too. One of my co-workers is a structural engineer and he rides CF.

I agree on Surly...they sell a product that is very well tailored to a niche but that also has large appeal. They usually seem to be ahead of the trends and curves, not playing catch up (which is one of the signs of a classic brand).

If how long something will last is such a large determinant of what will be classic...more people should be talking about titanium. I have a feeling that Ti frames are going to be around long after we're all dead and buried. Future life forms will excavate titanium frames and wonder what they were.