Trek Fuel EX
 

I ride the road but I'm looking to get a mountain bike for my weekend fun. So I've started renting and comparing. Today I rented an 08 Trek Fuel EX 8. I'm 6'5" 215lbs. I rented the xl. It was a good ride but I broke the left seat stay down by the dropout/disc brake area. I don't think I was radical or anything. When I returned it, the shop said this was common on the 08 Trek Fuel EX and was fixed in the 09.

1. Was this common on the 08 and Fixed on the 09?
2. The fancier Trek Fuel EX bikes are carbon. Would those be better or worse in this respect (seat stay strength)?

Just curious if anyone had input. I'll move onto the next rental, but if I like the Trek the best I'd like to know more about this scenario.

Thanks

i can help answer the second question i guess. Carbon is an odd material when they use it for bikes in that its only strong in the directions that it is needed to be. Try bending carbon fork legs together and they are easy to bend but add pressure to the frame that is close to the way it would during rides, its perfectly rigid and will not break or bend. The carbon bikes would be perfectly strong on the fuel