Originally Posted by
gsa103
Santa Cruz CF mountain bikes are significantly stronger than their Al counter-parts.
Pinkbike Visits The Santa Cruz Test Lab Video - YouTube
Carbon fiber and steel/Al fail differently. A rider might be able to complete a stage with a slightly bent frame/fork, its still a trashed frame.
The part I found really amusing is that the vast majority of broken carbon actually occurred in transit. Taking carbon shards out of a wheel bag is not a racing failure. Contador's broken frame....car accident. If it were really such a hazard why aren't riders being impaled by carbon shards? It this years TdF the riders were much more broken than the bikes. If I need an ambulance, I could care less about the condition of the bike.
Very interesting test. For reproducibility determination/statistical validity one would want to see at least five examples of each material in the crush test. Also the impact test with a falling weight usually requires 30 specimens and a run plan/calculation scheme called the Bruceton Staircase. That would get really pricey. But what the hell. For a quick and dirty, this was pretty well done and quite convincing. Of course, it is probably important to point out that the aluminum failure was ductile while the CF failure was brittle, but the extra strength of the CF was very impressive none the less.