Originally Posted by
Batman_3000
Mavic tried some wooden protos back in the eighties. Serious stuff, latest laminate tech, glues, modern hubs with 7 speed units... It didn't work, the things delaminated. Probably loss of knowledge about wood, or they called in some overeducated whizzkid engineer to design the things with a computer... Anyway, to get back to alloy, having found quite a few old bikes, I can attest to the fact that aluminium ages really badly: I've pulled spokes out of two different back wheels, ruining beautiful wheelsets, and I don't develop much wattage.
Totally agree with whoever said that the scariest thing after CF is aluminium. Aluminium ages, CF has a catastrophic failure mode even when spanking brand new. And it fails often. But what can you expect from a compromise construction of stiff fibers with random alignment in a medium of glue, 'coz that's all it is. Remeber, a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.
Excuse me? You can exercise your Constitutionally-given right to blabber as if you know some science all you want, and join the masses of Americans who know NO science but speak as if they do, but there's no reason to take gratuitous shots at people who ACTUALLY know something about science, and without whom you'd be shivering in the fricking dark, having trouble surviving the winter!
Unless by "overeducated" you mean "unseasoned" or "inexperienced."