Carbon seatpost - replace if scratched??

[Mr. Bloom]

Flur,

I have a bike with a carbon post and when I recently took it out for a good cleaning, it had tons of "abrasion scratches" from inside the seat tube. No one seemed concerned...even though it looked like someone had taken sandpaper to it (which is essentially what the friction inside the tube does) it was a large scale version of what you've described.

I'd go ahead and take it for a second opinion at the LBS, but based on my recent experience, my guess is that it's damage from other sources that need to concern you...

It doesn't take brute strength to tighten this thing, so get this checked out as well...the screw might be stripped.

Good luck!

Edited to add:
- check the post to see if it flexes under tension...probably sign of a problem
- take a coin and tap near the scratch and where there's nothing. If you hear a "dead tone", that's a red flag.
I suspect you're OK.