Originally Posted by
milkbaby
All my bikes of steel, aluminum, or carbon have blemishes or scratches from real world riding. The one I crashed the hardest is carbon with carbon handlebars, and the day I crashed, it was 10 miles into a hundred mile ride that I ended up finishing regardless.
Some people do have this approach or attitude toward carbon. Others have different ones. Manufacturers and those who have studied CF carefully do not recommend trusting carbon that has been crashed or seriously impacted.
As far as scratches and dings (nicks, divets, gouges, etc.) go, it's the same -- some think it's nothing, others do not. Those with true expertise do not think that the deeper scratches, etc. are necessarily nothing to be concerned about, especially for carbon structures that are shaving weight to achieve extreme lightness.
As far as aesthetics go, some people are fine with banged up cars, others perfectionistically detail out every small ding, scratch or imperfection. Who's right, who's better? Idk. I can see both sides, and for me it depends on the car, truck, motorcycle, bike or other item in question.