Quote Originally Posted by Muirenn View Post
Racing tends to get the bikes a little banged up, depending on what she ends up doing, so I personally wouldn't want a pricey carbon bike for that.
Not that I think this should be a huge worry… especially in tri, but aluminum is not actually particularly good for abusing… a dent in an aluminum tube can mean the bike's total demise and the lighter bike the more likely that is to happen. Bent aluminum, like say a chain stay, cannot be bent back, as aluminum fatigues easily. Carbon fails differently, but I don't think more than aluminum, so I wouldn't use that as a deciding factor.