Just a few thoughts, mostly answers to the claims on the advantage of brand carbon parts in comparison to the no-name Chinese carbon.
Unlike metals and alloys, carbon fibre coposites' strength characteristics change depending on orientation of the fibres. Layout of the carbon sheets should be adjusted to the direction of forces that the parts (in this case the bike parts) will be exposed to. Looking at the photos of the broken fork it looks like the fibres simply follow the usual basic crisscross pattern. That is of course hard to say based just on the pictures. What the big name bike manufacturers state is that their designers spend significant amount of time and brain power measuring and/or calculating those forces and applying the ensuing knowledge to the bike design. That well may be true in the top of the line products but allow me to be a little skeptical when speaking about anything other that the WC level stuff. IMO in most cases the layers of the material are more likely simply multiplied in the areas of increased stress.
This can be probably done even without any real engineering expertise simply using common sense, preferably of someone who spends at least some time riding and thinking about bicycles. That is what we should and possibly even can expect from the better of the generic carbon fibre parts made in China. We can also assume that these parts are made in the same factories where the big brands are having their parts made or at least in operations started and run by people who were at some point involved in manufacturing of the brand name products. In other words, they should possess the necessary know-how and skills.
The other issue is the QC. The big brand manufacturers likely do test their products on regular basis as they claim to to assure the manufacturing does not drift too far from the original designer's vision. Frankly, this is unlikely to happen in operations with a limited margin of profit and this will always be and inherent risk in buying inexpensive no-name parts.
However, whoever thinks that his particular fork or frame passed the same stress testing he can see in youtube videos, is badly mistaken. And he better be! Carbon composite materials are all subjects to material fatigue and the tests are intended to expose the products to the use and abuse they can expect over their life time ( as in "life time warranty", i.e. products life time, not yours). I certainly would not like to ride a fork that passed that testing.
Which brings me to the bottom line. Nothing lasts for ever. Neither me nor you nor this whole universe. Not even that newest shiny carbon fibre thingy you've bought for your hard earned cash. Even the big name products fail and sometimes they fail quite spectacularly. Yes, you get what you pay for and no, you can never have all the information you would like to. There is no reason for bashing the no-name made-in-China stuff as there is no reason to idolize it. Everybody's decisions must be conscious but nobody can know everything. Ultimately, life is a game of chance. One needs to handle his chips wisely but everybody will have only as much fun as he dares to. As long as the laws of thermodynamics are right, at the end the house always wins anyway.
