>I know there were issues with carbon-fibre becoming brittle after long term exposure to sunlight, at least in the early days of carbon fibre use. That may be solved now.
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>The prices for bikes - It astounds me to see people pay more money for a high-end bike than for a good used car.

It seems that anything can be turned into a luxury item. Imagine ballpoint pen with titanium spring - or, well, you don't have to imagine, just remember all the perverse stuff that used to be built into fountain pens. Or $2000 turntables. Or garments. What are the most expensive jeans you can find and how many times more expensive are they, compared to the low end stuff sold at, Kmart or other xMarts?