Continuous wear (loosening up the roller internals) is, IMHO, not the real danger. Except for hydraulic rollers, the lash (as set, or loose) is taken up violently when the opening ramp smacks the roller sideways. The hit is only taken by the few rollers immediately adjacent to the point of contact, nothing like the entire set of rollers. This impact will shatter the needles, especially when lash gets above spec. I suspect that even one broken roller may lead to failure.
