Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
Carbon is actually the easiest material to repair on tour. All you need is some epoxy and fiberglass or carbon tows. You could even carry a very light repair kit with some sandpaper, a little bottle of resin, hardener, and some carbon fiber tows. Most modern metal frames would be extremely difficult to repair, but carbon is fairly simple if you educate yourself. Just google: "repair carbon fiber frames yourself".
What are the failure modes for carbon frames failing and what is the reliability?
I don't have direct experience here. I was on a Ride the Rockies once where someone with a carbon fiber front fork had run into an obstacle - splintering the fork in dramatic looking fashion. So a failure like that I see more as a "replace" than "repair" situation.
I figure failures in general are rare for most all bicycle materials. Are they more so or less so for carbon vs. other materials?