Originally Posted by eippo1

Carbon tends to be stronger in every way in comparison to metal with the exception of a concentrated impact. The reason why it's mentioned that the fail is more catastrophic is because the material all works together, so when a portion fails, the adjacent areas tend to give way as well (but usually only those adjacent areas). That said, carbon is also repairable in many cases and no longer costs an arm and a leg to get it repaired.

As a testament to the strength of carbon, when a frame is warrantied, it has to be rendered unrideable. This is simple with a metal bike because you just saw out the bottom bracket, but ask a mechanic how much they loathe making a carbon bike unrideable (unless they are having a bad day and have anger issues). They put it in a vice and either get another guy to help them push it until it breaks in half (the table must be bolted to the floor) or they get a monster truck and run over it many, many times.