That makes a great deal of sense. I can only imagine being far from home in a different part of the world and having bike frame issues. I doubt that carbon fiber can be repaired, but at least one can find a welding shop just about anywhere.
A 'bush' welder will destroy your steel bike frame. You want to find someone who can
braze.
Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Ya know, if its a question of how long humanity needs to figure out how to use a material:
Bamboo 20,000+ years
