Carbon is Deceptive

We all know that if you have a carbon frame and it cracks or develops a hole or whatever, that it is ruined, right? Well, maybe not.

There's a famous story about a Lance Armstrong Madone. While he was climbing some big mountain on Le Tour he snagged some spectator's purse and fell to the ground, then his bike got ran over by the guy behind him. The incident cracked a chainstay clear through, but Armstrong decided to keep riding it and finished the stage. The frame is on display at some Trek warehouse now.

Also, there's this bike, a Trek 5000 from the 90's:

A customer came into the shop with one of these for a tune up, and when I pulled off the rear wheel and looked at the brake bridge I saw this:

That, my friends, is a big ole' hole going right on through the layers of carbon fiber, exposing the netherworld beyond. Here it is from another angle:

I asked the customer how long it had been like that and she said she bought the bike with tires that were too big in 2006, rode those tires until their premature death, noticed the hole that same year, and has been riding and racing on it ever since. 

Point is, carbon fiber is a tricky material. A crack or hole does not always mean a failure. Though, for safety's sake, I usually assume it does.