Carbon durability vs alum

I would say there's no difference, really. Especially if you are not racing, since that means you won't be concerned with crashes and the like. I've seen all kinds of horrific crashes in races, where people end up with holes in their carbon frames, alu frames that end up cracked or dented, etc. But if you're not racing (and you don't ride some flyweight 800 gram frame and weigh like 200 lbs)....then just about any quality frame should last as long as you need it to.

Carbon technology is probably still evolving.
Resins, the way the fibre is laid and layers will all effect ride and durability.
I remember horror stories from early carbon item such as:
A brand new mountain bike virtually exploding when hit by a car at a crossing.
Carbon sailboard masts shattering when left in the sun for too long, and Honda prototype motorcycle wheels disintegrating on the race track.
These incidents were all early ninties, and technology has come a long way so a quality manufacturer should know what they are doing.
Having said that the bottom brackets used to fall off Canondale Ravens (a carbon mountain bike) a few years ago and their fix was to fill the bottom bracket area of the frame with resin before it broke, adding considerably to the weight.

I have yet so see someone "wear out" a frame, regardless of material. Crashes fer sure, heavy riders on ultra light frames as well, but short of a manufacturing defect or abuse it just doesn't happen. Older carbon lugged frames had issues but they seemed to be centered more around bonding than anything else.

capwater said:

I have yet so see someone "wear out" a frame, regardless of material. Crashes fer sure, heavy riders on ultra light frames as well, but short of a manufacturing defect or abuse it just doesn't happen. Older carbon lugged frames had issues but they seemed to be centered more around bonding than anything else.

Thanks! I was concerned that carbon did not "last" as long as a metal frame but my fears were unfounded!

A composite frame is always going to be a slightly iffy item after a big hit leaves it apparently unscathed, whereas a metal frame will typically either be OK or show the damage. If you never crash (and who knows this for sure?) and do a lot of riding, a composite frame could outlast Al, as CF is not supposed to fatigue with ordinary use as does Al.