I'm an avid fly fisherman. What's that got to do with this thread? Well, it is well known in the fly fishing community that if a split shot hits a graphite, boron or carbon rod during the cast it will weaken it and it will snap unexpectedly...almost guaranteed, you just don't know when.

My guess is the same with carbon bike frames. Even a little nick from leaning against a brick wall, or falling over can compromise the integrity of the frame in that spot. Like an earlier poster noted, it won't bend, crumple or protest or give a warning, it will just snap all at once.

Fly rods are no different. I've had two snap unexpectedly over the years. Both were expensive and high performance rods. For this reason I shy away from anything carbon. It just doesn't take much abuse. For me, longevity and durability are paramount in my equipment. I will sacrifice more weight for dependability in adverse conditions. For me, carbon just isn't my material of choice.