First of all, I don't support the fakes. In fact, I don't even like most things made in China. Having said that, the velonews article is a piece that is best described as:
- pseudo science
- anecdotal
- sensationalilsm
- a plug piece for Specialized (I would not be surprised if Specialized donated their frame)
The article mentions all these metrics of the carbon of the Sworks, all these fancy psi numbers. The fact is if they were to take an Evo, Foil, Dogma, C60, or any other carbon bikes out there, including the lowest of the low carbon bikes, they would have numbers that are different from the S-works. And since the Lab did not stipulate the range of numbers that would be considered "safe" (they couldn't because they don't know what constitute safety in a statistical sense), all the numbers really means nothing. The only significant (pseudo conclusion) the lab could make of the numbers is that "lower numbers" must be unsafe. Real science there with rigor data backing up the bold claim of the intended piece, eh. Yeah right!
Kiddies bikes from Wally's world made in China are basically crap, yet do we hear of kids dying from riding a cheap Chinese aluminum bikes much? No we don't.
It's a shame that Velonews is more into sensationalism than science, when this topic of frame safety can really use real science. Velonews must think that their readers have low critical thinking or what? It's cute that Velonews mentioned Mr. Parson, who is a triathlete and a motocross racer; it's as if to highlight the deviousness of the Chinese that they can even tempt a triathlete and motocrosser into buying a fake.
Well I actually know a guy whose Tarmac steerer column snapped (his Tarmac was one of those recalled due to the steerer tube issue, but for whatever reason he did not get the memo), and he ended up with a mangled and severly bruised face, broken teeth, fracture jaw, and a few days in the hospital. He has quit riding since his accident, and was in the process of fielding his legal options last I heard from him.