Originally Posted by
CliffordK
Bike problems aren't new.
Nor are new "wonder materials"
Around 1990, I had a friend with a fancy new aluminum frame bike, & a broken dropout. I don't remember the circumstances, but I think it was just from riding. However, such a failure could certainly knock a person out of a race.
Failed titanium?
And, of course, we periodically see examples of failed steel posted here.
A crash hard enough to crumple carbon fiber could easily have left a steel bike, or a bike of just about any other frame material either unrideable, or dangerous to ride.
An amateur racer might repair a frame like the one [MENTION=381793]gugie[/MENTION] has, but if it was a pro racer, that likely would have been made into scrap metal, and the racer would have gotten a new frame.
BITD domestiques would get a frame rebent. In the early 80's I worked in a bikeshop in Walnut Creek, California. One Bob Roll is originally from Pleasant Hill, an adjoining suburb. He came into our shop after a TdF with Team 7-11 (and 6 weeks living with gypsies under a freeway underpass, but that's another story) and had his team bike with him to sell on consignment. He told me it had been bent back to ship after a few crashes - paint was only touched up - and you could still see a few small creases in the tubing.
Budgets and salaries were smaller then.