"Chuck W" wrote in message
...

Anything deep enough to break a significant number of individual fibres in
the weave weakens the frame at that point, making it more likely to break
under sudden load. If the scratched part is still stronger than the
weakest
area designed into the frame under that specific load, then no harm, no
foul.

However, if the damage is deep enough to make that area the new weakest
point in the frame under any particular load, then the clock is ticking,
so
to speak.

Hope that helped.

-Chuck W


Which is exactly what I was getting at, without the textbook
info...normal-use scratches are okay, and I did exaggerate a bit for the
sake of the OP. Because we can't see the frame - he might be buying a bike
ready to give out, you never know - I figured I'd set him up to err on the
side of caution.

Chris