Carbon a bad idea for hard-tail 29er?

[trailgumby]

Giant Australia have excellent warranty service from what I have seen from local riders.

Indeed. And while they too have had their share of failures (alloy frames, top tube near seat tube) they've been resolved quickly and smoothly, exactly the way you'd want, and in a way that enhances the bran'd reputation rather than damages it. Cannondale please take note.

@__PG__: Thanks for injecting some common sense and debunking the comparison with jet aircraft usage of carbon fibre.

Interesting to note from that article and related links the A380 still appears to be using aluminium alloys for the structural components of their wings (contrary to popular conception), and in fact it required the development of NEW aluminium alloys.

@nobody, don't be too shocked. I'll probably acquire a CF 29er dually a bit later this year once the 2014 models land. However, the plan is to lock them in on service life expectations via email prior to purchase. Then, if it goes ptooey and they start prevaricating, I'll have something a bit stronger to go into bat with than "he said/she said"

[Nobody]

@__PG__: Thanks for injecting some common sense and debunking the comparison with jet aircraft usage of carbon fibre.

+1.

@nobody, don't be too shocked. I'll probably acquire a CF 29er dually a bit later this year once the 2014 models land. However, the plan is to lock them in on service life expectations via email prior to purchase. Then, if it goes ptooey and they start prevaricating, I'll have something a bit stronger to go into bat with than "he said/she said"

At least you're going in with your eyes open.