My friend just returned from Italy on a tour up the entire length of the east coast.

He visited the factory that built his and his wife's custom steel frames.

They also build carbon fiber frames and sponsor a Pro team. When Mike asked them about their reliability the company official that was showing them around said that he would not recommend ANYONE buying a carbon fiber frameset..

He said that pro teams replace their framesets generally each race because they cannot take the chance injuring a rider with a failure. This is a famous Italian marque that has made bicycles since 1957. So the opinion of the factory should bear some weight.

Global Cycling Network has performed a series of tests of carbon handlebars vs aluminum. What they discovered should come as no surprise to anyone - carbon has four or five times the fatigue resistance of aluminum.

So under loads that are at or under their designed strength they have a much longer life than aluminum.

However, at loads above their designed strength carbon fiber will break whereas aluminum tends to bend instead of break.

What this means is that a properly designed and manufactured carbon fiber bike should have four or more times the lifespan of an aluminum frameset designed to the same limits.

There is only one thing wrong with this theory - carbon fiber construction has a number of problems - they can be build more easily with flaws than can aluminum or steel bikes and since everyone is going for the lightest possible bikes these days, the design of carbon bikes and their strength isn't known closely enough to be as reliable as necessary.

So if you're Joe Modern and want a super-light carbon frame be honest with yourself and realize that your bike could break and it could occur at the worst possible times. If you're a Pro racer it is your business to be competitive at the highest levels. If you are not perhaps another material may be more appropriate.